HireQuest CEO Rick Hermanns Expresses Disappointment Over Trueblue's Rejection Of Acquisition Proposal; Urges Board To Engage With Shareholders

HireQuest's Offer Provides Superior Value to TrueBlue's Stand-Alone Prospects

GOOSE CREEK, SC / ACCESS Newswire / May 19, 2025 / HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI) today issued the following statements in response to the announcement by TrueBlue, Inc. (TBI) that its Board of Directors has rejected HireQuest's previously announced proposal to acquire TrueBlue for $7.50 per share.

"We are disappointed that despite the positive response to our offer from TrueBlue shareholders, TrueBlue's Board not only continues to refuse to engage with us to discuss our offer but has even taken steps to deter their shareholders' ability to weigh in," said Rick Hermanns, Chief Executive Officer of HireQuest.

"The TrueBlue response does not change our belief in the compelling strategic and financial merits of our proposal. We are offering shareholders both a step up in value at closing and the opportunity to participate in the upside of the combined company. For nearly two years, we've made repeated efforts to engage with TrueBlue's Board and management about a strategic combination, however, unfortunately, they've shown no willingness to even consider an alternative path - despite overseeing a decline from $2.8 billion in revenue and $134 million in EBITDA in 2016 to $1.6 billion in revenue and negative EBITDA today."

Mr. Hermanns went on to say, "The existing TrueBlue strategy, and specifically that of PeopleReady, is no longer competitive in the dynamic economic environment that seems to have become the new norm for the industry. Per Staffing Industry Analysts, the company has underperformed the industry seven out of the last eight years. Conversely, we believe HireQuest's franchise model and flexible operating platform not only performs throughout economic cycles, but it is uniquely suited to arrest TrueBlue's downward spiral."

HireQuest has outlined the specific benefits of transforming TrueBlue's business model in its TrueBlue Merger Presentation which has been filed with the SEC and which can be viewed on the company's Investor Relations webpage (https://investors.hirequest.com/events-presentations). HireQuest encourages all TrueBlue shareholders to review it and reach out with any questions.

"We are convinced of the enormous upside to be achieved through a strategic combination and feel compelled to take this directly to TrueBlue's shareholders," said Hermanns. "We believe our franchise-based approach to staffing will unlock value currently hidden within the company by converting PeopleReady offices into entrepreneur-driven independently owned businesses."

"Our $7.50 per share offer represents a compelling premium, and while we believe it's fair, we remain open to increasing it as well as potentially adding a material cash component if TrueBlue's leadership chooses to engage in good faith discussions. Our goal has always been to structure a friendly, mutually beneficial transaction, and that has not changed."

Hermanns concluded by saying, "The ultimate question we are posing to shareholders is: Would you rather invest in a larger, higher-margin combined company at $7.50 per share, or invest at a much lower pre-offer price in an unprofitable company trying to turn itself around from a decade of declines? We have a winning solution here and are excited to bring it to the TrueBlue's shareholders."