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2. Acquisitions

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2021

Business Combinations [Abstract]

Business Combinations

Snelling Staffing

On March 1, 2021, we completed our acquisition of certain assets of Snelling in accordance with the terms of the Asset Purchase Agreement dated January 29, 2021 (the “Snelling Agreement”). Snelling is a 67-year-old staffing company headquartered in Richardson, TX. Pursuant to the Snelling Agreement, HQ Snelling Corporation (“HQ Snelling”), our wholly-owned subsidiary, acquired substantially all of the operating assets and assumed certain liabilities of the sellers for a purchase price of approximately $17.7 million, subject to customary adjustments for net working capital. Also on March 1, 2021, HQ Snelling entered into the First Amendment to the Purchase Agreement, pursuant to which HireQuest, Inc. agreed to advance $2.1 million to the sellers at closing so the seller could facilitate payment on behalf of HQ Snelling to settle accrued payroll liabilities HQ Snelling assumed pursuant to the Snelling Agreement. Substantially all of the locations where we assumed franchisor status in this transaction have subsequently signed our HireQuest franchise agreement and will continue to operate under the Snelling tradename.

The following table summarizes the estimated fair values of the identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed as of the acquisition date. These estimates are preliminary, pending final evaluation of certain assets and liabilities, and therefore are subject to revisions that may result in adjustments to the values presented below:

Total allocable purchase price paid in cash		$	17,691,242

Accounts receivable		$	12,292,830
Workers' compensation deposit			7,200,000
Franchise agreements			11,034,000
Customer lists			1,690,000
Other current assets			109,773
Workers' compensation claims liability			(4,890,930	)
Accrued payroll and payroll liabilities			(2,100,000	)
Current liabilities			(663,430	)
Other liabilities			(2,021,832	)
Bargain purchase			(4,959,169	)
Purchase price allocation		$	17,691,242

The bargain purchase is attributable to the financial position of the seller and because there were few suitable potential buyers. The gain is included in the line item, “Other miscellaneous income,” in our consolidated statement of income.

The following table presents unaudited pro forma information assuming the acquisition of Snelling had occurred on January 1, 2020. The unaudited pro forma information is not necessarily indicative of the results of operations that would have been achieved if the acquisition had taken place on that date:

		Three months ended
		March 31, 2021				March 31, 2020
Royalty revenue		$	4,069,507			$	4,874,260
Net (loss) income			(593,067	)			1,573,164
Basic (loss) earnings per share		$	(0.04	)		$	0.12
Basic weighted average shares outstanding			13,602,764				13,533,247
Diluted (loss) earnings per share		$	(0.04	)		$	0.12
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding			13,602,764				13,535,000

These calculations reflect increased amortization expense, increased payroll expense, the elimination of gains associated with the transaction, the elimination of transaction related costs, and the consequential tax effects that would have resulted had the acquisition closed on January 1, 2020.

In connection with the acquisition, we sold the 10 locations that had been company-owned by Snelling. Two of these, we sold to franchisees. Four offices were sold to a third-party purchaser. Four offices were sold to a California purchaser (the “California Purchaser”) and operate as Snelling pursuant to a license agreement. The aggregate sale price for these locations consisted of (i) $1.0 million in the form of a promissory note that bears interest at 6.0%, (ii) the right to receive 1.5% of revenue generated at the Ontario location for the next 12 months, (iii) the right to receive 2.5% of revenue generated at the Tracy and Lathrop locations for the next 12 months, (iv) the right to receive 2.0% of revenue generated at the Princeton location for the next 36 months, and (v) approximately $1 million in cash. There are no remaining company-owned locations at March 31, 2021.

One of the California locations operates pursuant to a license agreement whereby they license the Snelling trademark and pay us a royalty of 9% of their gross margin. The California Purchaser will convert the remaining three California locations to franchisees at which point these franchisees will begin to pay us 9% of their gross margin.

Asset Acquisition

Link Staffing

On March 22, 2021, we completed our acquisition of the franchise relationships and certain other assets of Link in accordance with the terms of the Asset Purchase Agreement dated February 12, 2021 (the "Link Agreement"). Link is a family-owned staffing company headquartered in Houston, TX. Pursuant to the Link Agreement, HQ Link Corporation ("HQ Link"), our wholly-owned subsidiary, acquired franchise agreements for approximately 35 locations, and other assets of Link Staffing for a purchase price of $11.1 million. Substantially all of the locations where we assumed franchisor status in this transaction have subsequently signed our HireQuest franchise agreement and will operate under the Snelling tradename.

The following table summarizes the estimated fair values of the identifiable assets acquired as of the acquisition date. Due to the proximity of the acquisition to quarter end, these estimates are preliminary, pending final evaluation, and therefore are subject to revisions that may result in adjustments to the values presented below:

Cash		$	11,122,911

Franchise agreements		$	10,886,178
Notes receivable			236,733
Purchase price allocation		$	11,122,911

We determined the Link transaction was an asset acquisition as substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired was concentrated in the franchise agreements. Accordingly, no pro forma financial information is presented.

We assigned six of the franchise agreements we purchased in the transaction, all located in California, to the California Purchaser. These six franchisees operate pursuant to a Link trademark sublicense agreement whereby they pay us 9% of the gross margin of their offices in exchange for a sublicense to utilize the Link tradename.