Jun 10, 2026 – 6.42pmJapanese recruitment giant Persol is ready to clock out of Programmed, nearly nine years after it swept the services business off the ASX boards for $778 million.Tokyo-listed Persol has mandated Lazard Australia managing director Campbell Ray to consider Programmed’s strategic options, people involved in the matter told Street Talk on the condition of anonymity. A formal auction expected to kick off next month.Sarah Thompson has co-edited Street Talk since 2009, specialising in private equity, investment banking, M&A and equity capital markets stories. Prior to that, she spent 10 years in London as a markets and M&A reporter at Bloomberg and Dow Jones.Kanika Sood is a journalist based in Sydney who writes for the Street Talk column.Emma Rapaport is a co-editor of the Street Talk column. Prior to that, she was a markets reporter at The Australian Financial Review.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber?
Persol to explore exit of facilities manager Programmed; hires adviser
Early education meetings are under way with private equity firms as well as strategics, who’ve been told to expect a formal auction to launch in the second half.
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