Recruitment and talent management services provider Rethink Group has acquired specialist digital recruiter Digital Gurus for a mix of cash and equity in a deal inked on 24 March.

Speaking exclusively to Recruiter today, Rethink chief executive Steve Wright said talks about a potential deal “got down and dirty” between May and June 2015, with the shape of the deal agreed by last September. “It’s been quite a long time in incubation,” Wright said.

A common link between Rethink and Digital Gurus was recruitment industry entrepreneur John O’Sullivan who has served on the boards of both companies and introduced the parties to each other in October 2014, Wright said.

The deal will have a significant financial impact, taking Rethink Group’s projected 2016 turnover to £140m. It also will see the group’s global workforce expand to more than 200 client-facing consultants across 10 global offices managing over 1,000 clients, a statement from Rethink said. 

Digital Gurus has offices in London, Dubai and Sydney, and Rethink has plans to introduce its newest acquisition to Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol.

Wright said the Digital Gurus brand will be retained and grown under the leadership of its founders, Saif Kidwai and Farooq Mohammed, who are remaining with the business. One of Rethink’s founders, Michael Bennett, will project manage the new acquisition’s integration into the parent company. 

Acknowledging that the casual Digital Gurus culture differs from that of the more corporate Rethink, Wright said that the former’s culture will be retained.

In a prepared statement, Mohammed said the deal “elevates our potential… Ultimately, it is a partnership which will bolster all our skills and will keep us all well ahead of the curve in advising our clients on the commercial digital revolution.”

The most important aspect of the integration will be the extent to which the merged organisations leverage their products and services into each other’s client base. For instance, Digital Gurus will be introduced to Rethink clients that are undergoing digital transformations, “to take their unique products and put them into our unique client base”, Wright said. At the same time, Rethink will position its talent management solutions as options for Digital Gurus’ clients.