GOOSE CREEK, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HireQuest, Inc. (Nasdaq: HQI), a national franchisor of on-demand and temporary staffing services, today announced that its subsidiary, HQ Link Corporation, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the franchised operations of LINK Staffing, a family-owned staffing company based in Houston, Texas, for approximately $11 million in cash. The transaction does not include working capital. The 35 acquired locations generated approximately $57 million in system-wide sales in 2020.

“This acquisition, combined with the pending acquisition of the assets of Snelling Staffing, dramatically expands our commercial staffing business,” commented Rick Hermanns, HireQuest’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Combined, these two acquisitions should give us more than 80 commercial staffing locations after normal attrition and consolidation, creating a compelling national presence. We believe we are well positioned to take advantage of the economic recovery as the economy begins to normalize and have acquired LINK and Snelling at an opportune moment. LINK’s concentrations in Florida and Texas strengthen our presence in two of the fastest growing states in the country.”

“HireQuest continues to identify strategic inorganic opportunities to deploy our capital to create long-term, sustainable value,” added Mr. Hermanns. “These acquisitions should also accelerate organic growth as our existing franchisees also seek expansion opportunities. The two recently announced pending acquisitions will help diversify our revenue streams and solidify our competitive position.”

HireQuest will fund this acquisition with cash on hand and its line of credit with Truist Bank. Completion of the transaction is subject to a number of closing conditions. Subject to such conditions, the transaction is expected to close by the end of March 2021. During the interim, both HireQuest and LINK offices are expected to remain open for business without interruption.

Dividend

The company also announced that on February 12, 2021, its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.05 per share of common stock expected to be paid on March 15, 2021 to shareholders of record as of March 1, 2021.

About HireQuest

HireQuest, Inc. is a nationwide franchisor that provides on-demand labor solutions primarily in the light industrial and blue-collar segments of the staffing industry for HireQuest Direct and HireQuest franchised offices across the United States. Through its national network of approximately 136 franchisee-owned offices in 30 states and the District of Columbia, HireQuest provides employment for approximately 80,000 individuals annually that work for thousands of customers in numerous industries including construction, light industrial, manufacturing, hospitality, and event services. For more information, visit www.hirequest.com.