Acquisition Accelerates HireQuest’s Digital Strategy; Provides Franchisees, Clients and Workforce with a Robust Next-gen Technology Platform

HireQuest, Inc. (Nasdaq: HQI), a national franchisor of on-demand, temporary, and commercial staffing services, today announced that it has acquired Recruit Media, Inc., an HR tech start-up with a next-gen SaaS recruitment platform. The transaction was paid for with cash on hand and a modest revolver draw.

Recruit Media enables candidates to create rich multimedia profiles to better differentiate themselves and convey their skills to potential employers. It also streamlines communications with text-based chat as well as in-app video chat. Recruit Media’s technology is multi-platform with a web-based application, as well as native iOS and Android apps, to provide candidates and employers with the flexibility to use the platform in a way that best fits their needs. HireQuest will integrate the Recruit Media platform with its existing technology suite used by its franchisees to run their day-to-day business. Recruit Media’s technology will streamline workforce communications and allow franchisees to better serve their customers. In addition, the public facing web domain, www.Recruit.com, along with its respective iOS and Android apps, gives HireQuest a fully functional online job ad and recruitment platform that could become an additional business line, or stand-alone company, in the future.

“The acquisition of Recruit Media brings us to the forefront of staffing and recruiting technology and enables us to differentiate our value in the eyes of our workforce and clients. Recruiting qualified workers is a pain point for businesses across America. This platform focuses on reducing this friction point, increasing throughput to our franchisees,” commented Rick Hermanns, HireQuest’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Many of the features and solutions of the Recruit Media platform have been on our internal technology road map for a number of years. This acquisition accelerates that road map, saving us years of development, and provides a more robust base to build upon. Technology increasingly influences all aspects of our business and with the acquisition of Recruit Media we enable our franchisees, employees, and clients to interact with one another more efficiently. We’re very excited about the opportunities this creates for our franchisees today and the opportunities it opens up for us in the future.”

Recruit Media’s Co-founder and CEO Jeff Nussbaum shared that “Recruit Media was founded on the basic principle of ‘I am more than a resume,’ that the traditional resume alone does not empower candidates to holistically represent and differentiate themselves. We are thrilled that HireQuest will carry that torch forward, expanding upon our shared vision, and are certain that its franchisees, employees and clients will benefit greatly.” Recruit Media’s Co-founder and CTO Ira Bell added, “Building the Recruit Media platform has been an incredible journey. Innovations such as advanced search algorithms, in-platform messaging, AI powered content moderation, and web and mobile video tools, including the patented teleprompter, will make wonderful additions to HireQuest’s capabilities and offerings. We are honored to have Recruit Media become part of the HireQuest family.”

About HireQuest

HireQuest, Inc. is a nationwide franchisor that provides on-demand labor and commercial staffing solutions in the light industrial, blue-collar, and commercial segments of the staffing industry for HireQuest Direct, HireQuest, Snelling, and LINK franchised offices across the United States. Through its national network of over 210 franchisee-owned offices in more than 35 states and the District of Columbia, HireQuest provides employment for approximately 60,000 individuals annually that work for thousands of customers in numerous industries including construction, light industrial, manufacturing, hospitality, clerical, medical, travel, and event services. For more information, visit www.hirequest.com.

Important Cautions Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 including statements regarding the acquisition of Recruit Media and the expected benefits from such transaction including streamlined communications with franchisees, candidates, and customers, better customer service, integration of Recruit Media’s technology with HireQuest’s current technology suite, and the impact of the potential impact of the foregoing on results of operations and financial conditions of HireQuest. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained herein, including the statements identified in the preceding sentence and other statements regarding our future financial position and results of operations, liquidity, business strategy, and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. The words “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “will,” “believe,” “may,” “estimate,” “continue,” “should,” “plan,” “could,” “target,” “potential,” “is likely,” and similar expressions as they relate to the company or Recruit Media, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on management’s expectations and projections regarding future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, operating performance, business strategy, and financial needs. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties.

Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include: the possibility that the anticipated benefits of the acquisition will not be realized or will not be realized within the expected time period; the risk that Recruit Media’s business may not be integrated successfully and disruption from the acquisition may make it more difficult to maintain business and operational relationships; and several other factors.

Further information on risks we face is detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed since that date, and will be contained in our SEC filings in connection with this acquisition. Any forward-looking statement made by us herein speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. The Company undertakes no obligations to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may otherwise be required by law.

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