Japanese staffing agency Recruit has made a €1.4bn offer for Dutch temporary employment group USG People.

Recruit is offering €17.50 per share for USG People, which operates the Start People and Unique labels. This is a 31% premium on Monday’s closing price in Amsterdam.

USG’s management and supervisory boards support the bid and company founder Alex Mulder has already tendered his 19.8% stake.

The takeover will give Recruit direct access to the European staffing market.

Recruit’s chief executive Masumi Minegishi said in a statement that Recruit’s midterm vision is to become the world leader in human resources by around 2020 in terms of the number of positions filled.

‘Together with USG People, we aim to become a recognised industry leader in Europe. The time has now come to take another significant step forward. We see great long-term potential in combining USG People with Recruit.’