Shareholders in staffing agency Vedior on Friday approved its takeover by Dutch peer Randstad, making the acquisition now virtually inevitable.

The merger of the world’s number three and four agencies will create a new world number two, behind Switzerland’s Adecco.
Both firms announced first quarter earnings figures on Friday. Randstad booked a 3% rise in net profit at €73.3m for the first three months of 2008. The increase was lower than the €75m analysts expected reports ANP news service.
Vedior booked net profit of €46.9m in the first quarter of 2008, compared with €44.7m a year earlier. Turnover was up to just over €2bn due largely to ‘substantial’ growth in France.