Randstad today announces that the French competition authority has started an investigation at the premises of Randstad in France. Randstad refrains from giving any additional comments at this stage but stresses it cooperates openly with the authority and is confident that the investigation will result in a positive outcome.
Adecco, which competes with Randstad, said in a statement it was informed on Wednesday that it was under investigation, along with certain of its competitors, without naming them.
Our View & Conclusion:
This news creates uncertainty and is expected to put pressure on the stock. The company cannot give any further details on this news but expects to be able to provide more information on 25 July when they report their first half results.
Randstad seems to be quite confident on the outcome. Vediorbis, which was acquired by Randstad in 2008, was investigated by the French authorities in 2004. This process has run for about 5 years and resulted in several fines. Following this investigation, Randstad has optimized the internal processes and organisation.