PARIS, FRANCE: Freelance.com, the European leader in the relationship between companies and their external talents, announces the signing of a reciprocal promise with STA Groupe, a specialist in the salaried self-employment of independents and the matching of highly qualified consultants with companies.

The rapprochement with STA will allow Freelance.com to strengthen its range of services to independents and companies by actively participating in the consolidation of the salaried self-employment market in France. The acquisition, which will be made in cash, is scheduled to take place in early January 2024.

After 86 million euros in 2022, the STA group is expected to achieve strong revenue growth for the current year. The new entity will represent a combined 2023 revenue of over €1 billion, opening up very promising prospects for 2024 and the years to come.

STA, like OpenWork, is on a segment that perfectly complements Freelance.com’s existing offering, particularly in the IT skills area. The commercial momentum that these 2 companies have been able to generate has allowed them to achieve growth in activity well above the average for the salaried self-employment market since 2019, auguring very promising future synergies with Freelance.com’s existing offerings.

The tools and processes put in place by STA allow them to produce their services at extremely competitive costs and ensure them a profitability in line with Freelance.com standards.

Laurent Perret, DGA of Freelance.com in charge of salaried self-employment said: “The STA group enjoys an excellent reputation with a client base of freelancers and large accounts. It has an ergonomic platform and also an innovative, full digital, SaaS service offering.

Beyond the synergies between our know-how to consolidate the leading position of the Freelance.com group on the salaried self-employment market in France and Europe, the successive acquisitions of OpenWork and STA will allow us to enrich Freelance.com’s talent pool with nearly 15,000 active consultants.

Freelance.com is thus consolidating its positioning in skills that are in high demand from its large account clients: strategy consultants, business experts, transition managers, and IT freelancers.”

David Forner, Founding President of STA Groupe said: “After 12 years of continuous growth, I want to attach the STA group to a partner capable of ensuring its sustainability and development. I was attracted by the long-term industrial project of Freelance.com, which aims to facilitate the search for missions by freelancers and the search for talent by companies, particularly in the IT field. The wide range of services offered by Freelance.com perfectly complements the specifics of our model and the quality of our customer support.”

Analysts believe, this acquisition is a major strategic move for Freelance.com. It will allow the company to consolidate its position as the leading player in the European market for salaried self-employment.

STA is a well-respected company with a strong track record of growth. It is also a leader in the IT skills area, which is a key area for Freelance.com.

The acquisition is expected to close in early January 2024.