Two of the largest assessment firms in the world have merged to create a soup-to-nuts global assessment powerhouse.
PreVisor, based in Georgia, and SHL, based in London, announced the merger Tuesday morning (Jan. 12). The new company will retain the SHL name and headquarters. The CEO is David Leigh, who was CEO of the old SHL.
The merger is the latest in the continuing industry consolidation. Last month Lawson Software bought Enwisen for $70 million, while First Advantage was acquired for $265 million by a private equity firm that also owns part of Lawson.
The latest deal is a true merger. While terms were not disclosed, the new SHL will be owned in partnership by each of the owners of the predecessor firms. UK-based private equity firm Hg Capital, which owned SHL, and Veronis Suhler Stevenson of the U.S.-owned PreVisor.
“Largest employer of business psychologists anywhere”
The new company will employ some 850 workers, and will be, according to the announcement, “the largest employer of business psychologists anywhere in the world outside of the public sector.” The merged companies annually administer some 15 million assessments and will have a client base that includes half the companies on the Fortune Global 500 list.
In the announcement of the merger, Kevin Martin, senior vice president of research operations at Aberdeen Group, is quoted saying, “The merger between SHL and PreVisor brings together two leaders in pre- and post-hire assessments that combined has the potential to support an organization’s global talent management needs from entry-level to executive job roles.”
An FAQ on the SHL PreVisor website (the interim name for PreVisor), says the current product offerings won’t change immediately and customers “will have access to the most popular products and services” at least for the next 90 days. Thereafter, “We will evaluate the businesses’ offerings collectively to ensure they continue to be at the forefront of addressing market and client needs and support our core mission of remaining the world leader in the science of people intelligence.”
No price change for clients
System backends and the user interface will also remain intact for the time being. That will eventually change. The new company says in the FAQs, that “The combined organization has a roadmap for the technology infrastructure and will begin work on this shortly.”
Pricing is also addressed in the extensive list of questions and answers. “There will not be a price change related to this merger,” SHL says. “In the rare instance where there is a contract with both companies, the client will be contacted within the first month after the deal is completed to discuss any implications.”
Several members of the PreVisor management team are joining the new company. Caroline Paxman will become president of the Americas, while Robert Stephens, PreVisor CTO, will be CTO of the new company. Nikki Hall, HR chief at PreVisor, will be chief human resources officer for the combined organization. Former PreVisor CEO Noel Sitzmann has left.