Online recruiter StepStone has hinted that it may be in talks with other recruitment companies in a bid to boost its cash reserves.

The company admitted it was in discussions with 'industry participants' concerning its 'capital requirements and future strategy'.

StepStone published the statement concerning its funding after claims in the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten that it is in takeover talks with Adecco. The article claimed that investors should expect a bid next week from the global staffing giant.

Director of corporate relations Bob Gregory told Professional Recruiter that the London Stock Exchange had asked StepStone to publish a statement to the market as a result of the story.

The statement said: ‘Since the second quarter announcement, industry participants, noting the future funding needs of the company, have been in discussions with StepStone about its capital requirements and future strategy. The board expects to reach a conclusion to all these discussions within the next few weeks.’

StepStone said in a trading statement at the end of June that it would need more investment before it reached profitability. Its Q2 results showed the company lost E34.3m and had cash reserves of E46.9m – enough to last until the end of the year.