Technology

HIREQUEST ISSUES OFFER TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF TRUEBLUE, INC.

Published

3 months ago

May 12, 2026

Cash offer values the on-demand segment of TrueBlue, Inc. in excess of $100 million

GOOSE CREEK, S.C., May 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — HireQuest, Inc. (Nasdaq: HQI) announced today that it has submitted to the Board of Directors of TrueBlue, Inc. (NYSE: TBI) a proposal to acquire certain assets of TrueBlue’s People-Ready segment for $105 million in cash.

As previously disclosed, HireQuest (“HQI”) made multiple offers to acquire True Blue, Inc. (“TBI”) in 2025 at prices ranging from $7.50 to $12.30 per share. Each of those offers, however, was rebuffed by the board of directors of TBI (the “TBI Board”). As a result, and also as previously disclosed, HQI was prepared to initiate a tender offer directly to the TBI shareholders and incurred substantial costs in preparing such offer. However, prior to commencing the tender, HQI postponed further shareholder-facing communication in the hopes of engaging with the TBI Board directly on a friendly basis regarding a potential deal.

Now, a year after initially making its interest in a transaction public, no deal between HQI and TBI has materialized. HQI is once again exploring all options with respect to a potential transaction. “We remain interested in acquiring TrueBlue and especially the on-demand portion of the company’s People-Ready segment,” stated Richard Hermanns, CEO of HQI. “We believe the on-demand business is very complimentary to our HireQuest Direct division, and, as a result, we made an attractive all-cash offer earlier today to the TrueBlue Board for them to engage with us in a transaction to sell the on-demand business of TrueBlue’s People-Ready segment to us if they prefer to keep TrueBlue as an independent publicly-traded company.”

“The all-cash proposal for this portion of People-Ready,” Mr. Hermanns continued, “represents a unique opportunity for TrueBlue. This business, which excludes the higher-growth skilled and solar/renewable energy staffing segments, has been an underperformer for TrueBlue for years. As we’ve said in the past, HireQuest’s franchise model is uniquely suited to unlock the value in the on-demand portion of People-Ready. This deal could allow TrueBlue to divest of this underperforming segment and raise a substantial amount of cash that could be used to repay debt, grow and diversify its business strategically, or even make a sizeable special dividend to TrueBlue shareholders. Based on disclosures in their most recent proxy statement, this proposal represents $3.45 per share of TrueBlue stock.”

In closing, Mr. Hermanns added, “We hope the Board of TrueBlue will view this opportunity for what it is – a clear path to creating incremental shareholder value for TrueBlue shareholders.”

About HireQuest, Inc.

HireQuest is a franchisor of staffing solutions with a footprint across the U.S. and international markets. Through its primary divisions – HireQuest Direct, HireQuest Health, Snelling, TradeCorp and DriverQuest – the company delivers temporary, direct-hire, and contract workforce solutions across a wide range of industries, including construction, light industrial, healthcare, finance, manufacturing, hospitality, logistics and more. From on-demand staffing to direct hire recruiting, HireQuest’s divisions work together to provide workforce solutions that help businesses grow and create meaningful opportunities for the communities we serve. For more information, visit www.hirequest.com

Forward-looking Statements

This news release includes, and HireQuest’s officers and other representatives may sometimes make or provide certain estimates and other forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act, including statements regarding the proposed transaction, benefits and synergies of the proposed transaction and future opportunities for the combined company, including statements regarding value, profitability or growth prospects of the combined company. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “goal,” “seek,” “believe,” “project,” “estimate,” “expect,” “strategy,” “future,” “likely,” “may,” “should,” “will,” and similar references to future periods.

While HireQuest believes these statements are accurate, forward-looking statements are not historical facts and are inherently uncertain. They are based only on HireQuest’s current beliefs, expectations, and assumptions regarding the future of its and TrueBlue’s business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy, and other future conditions. HireQuest cannot assure you that these expectations will occur, and its actual results may be significantly different. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in any forward-looking statements made by HireQuest, include but are not limited to the possibility that the parties will not agree to pursue a business combination transaction or that the terms of any definitive agreement will be materially different from those described herein; uncertainties as to whether TrueBlue will cooperate with HireQuest regarding the proposed transaction; HireQuest’s ability to consummate the proposed transaction with TrueBlue; the conditions to the completion of the proposed transaction, including the receipt of any required shareholder approvals and any required regulatory approvals; the possibility that HireQuest may be unable to achieve expected synergies and operating efficiencies within the expected time-frames or at all and to successfully integrate TrueBlue’s operations with those of HireQuest; that such integration, including any proposed conversion to franchises, may be more difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected; that operating costs, customer loss and business disruption (including, without limitation, difficulties in maintaining relationships with employees, customers or suppliers) may be greater than expected following the proposed transaction or the public announcement of the proposed transaction; that the retention of certain key employees may be difficult; that any or all of such factors could result in lower profitability of the combined businesses than of HireQuest currently; and general economic conditions that are less favorable than expected. Additional risks that may affect HireQuest’s operations and other factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section and elsewhere in HireQuest’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and the quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed thereafter.

Any forward-looking statement made by HireQuest or its management in this news release is based only on information currently available to HireQuest and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. HireQuest and its management disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, based on the occurrence of future events, the receipt of new information, or otherwise, except as required by law.

Important Additional Information

This communication does not constitute an offer to buy or solicitation of an offer to sell any securities. This communication relates to a proposal that HireQuest has made for a business combination transaction with TrueBlue. In furtherance of this proposal and subject to future developments, HireQuest (and, if applicable, TrueBlue) may file one or more registration statements, consent solicitation or proxy statements, tender offer statements, prospectuses or other documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). However, such filings will not be made unless required. This communication is not a substitute for any registration statement, consent solicitation or proxy statement, tender offer statement, prospectus or other document HireQuest and/or TrueBlue may file with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction.

Investors and security holders of TrueBlue and HireQuest are urged to read any registration statement(s), consent solicitation or proxy statement(s), tender offer statement(s), prospectus(es) and/or other documents that may be filed with the SEC carefully in their entirety if and when they become available as they will contain important information about the proposed transaction.

Any final prospectus(es) and definitive consent solicitation or proxy statement(s) (if and when available) will be mailed to shareholders of True Blue and/or HireQuest, as applicable. Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of these documents (if and when available) and other documents filed with the SEC by HireQuest through the web site maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov, and by visiting HireQuest’s investor relations site at investors.hirequest.com.

This document shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

This communication is neither a solicitation of a consent or proxy nor a substitute for any consent solicitation or proxy statement or other filings that may be made with the SEC. Nonetheless, to the extent a TrueBlue shareholder vote is required, HireQuest and its directors and executive officers and other members of management and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of consents or proxies in respect of the proposed transactions. You can find information about HireQuest’s executive officers and directors in its Proxy Statements on Schedule 14A filed with the SEC on April 30, 2026. Additional information regarding the interests of such potential participants will be included in one or more registration statements, consent solicitation or proxy statements, tender offer statements or other documents if and when they become available. These documents (if and when available) may be obtained free of charge from the SEC’s website www.sec.gov, and by visiting HireQuest’s investor relations site at investors.hirequest.com.

Company Contact:
HireQuest
David Hartley, Chief Financial Officer
(800) 835-6755
Email: cdhartley@hirequest.com

Investor Relations Contact:
IMS Investor Relations
John Nesbett/Jennifer Belodeau
(203) 972-9200
Email: hirequest@imsinvestorrelations.com

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SOURCE HireQuest

Technology

Mitgo Ventures Launches Publisher Investment Program

Published

53 minutes ago

August 1, 2026

NECKARSULM, Germany, Aug. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Mitgo Ventures isn’t a bank. It isn’t a generic VC fund that discovered “affiliate marketing” last year. It’s the investment arm of the same Mitgo Group that built one of the leading global partner networks, Admitad. Through the Publisher Investment Program publishers can get direct access to the people who built a $300M+ annual revenue affiliate business.

Mitgo’s mentors have a unique expertise in performance field:

20 years in performance marketing400+ business ideas tested30+ businesses still running40+ startups built from scratch25+ venture deals closed5 acquisitions

These are the people who will be looking at publisher’s business — and they’ve seen every version of it before. Not a course, not a playbook, not a Notion doc. Real conversations with founders who’ve made the same mistakes a publisher is about to make — and figured out how to avoid them.

The Mitgo ecosystem opens up to every participant of the Pubisher Investment Program. Investors, advertisers, portfolio companies — new clients and partners start appearing swiftly. These are connections that take most publishers years to build, if ever.

Requirements are simple. A publisher needs to be working on (or open to) the CPA model, operating in the US, Europe, MENA, LatAm, or APAC, and generating at least $1,000/month consistently over the last three months. Cashback site, coupon platform, deal aggregator, content publisher — if a business earns real affiliate revenue, it’s likely exactly who Mitgo is looking for.

The publisher starts with the application — it takes one minute to fill. Then the applicant has a conversation with an investment manager, no pitch deck required. Then negotiate the terms and sign the deal.

When the deal closes, Mitgo makes noise about it. Publisher’s name reaches investors and advertisers who are actively looking for similar publishers. That kind of visibility is usually not for sale. And through all of it — Mitgo’s founders and top management are personally in the publisher’s corner.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mitgo-ventures-launches-publisher-investment-program-302840544.html

SOURCE Mitgo

Technology

Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh Advanced Credit Program Gains Strong Response with 1,856 Industry Certifications in One Year

Published

53 minutes ago

August 1, 2026

Top Companies like Intel, AWS Academy, EC-Council, SAS, Altium, Tally, The Australia Today, LifeSenz Offers certifications

LUCKNOW, India, Aug. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh is redefining how students prepare for the future by turning learning into measurable industry value. With its Advanced Credit Program delivering 1,856 industry certifications in just one academic year, CU UP is proving that a degree can be far more powerful when it is backed by globally relevant skills, flexible credit pathways and direct industry alignment.

The initiative reflects a clear shift in higher education, where students are no longer expected to rely only on classroom learning. Instead, they are being prepared with practical, career-oriented capabilities that match the needs of modern industry. Chandigarh University’s Advanced Credit Program has been designed to give students access to globally recognized certifications and job-ready skills even before they formally begin their degree journey.

The Advanced Credit Program allows students to earn credit points through certified learning, which can later be used within their academic progression. These credits can be transferred when students move from one course to another or from one stream to another, making the program especially useful for flexible and interdisciplinary learning.

The system also supports students who may need to pause their studies for any reason and later return to complete another course. Their previously earned credits can still be used, reducing duplication of learning and saving both time and effort. This makes the model useful for multiple entry and exit pathways, which are becoming increasingly important in modern higher education.

For students who want to explore new directions, the program offers additional value. A learner who studies science at the undergraduate level can later move toward data science or management at the postgraduate level, while still benefiting from previously earned credits. In this way, the ACP helps students understand industry expectations early and begin preparing for placements well in advance.

For the 2026–27 session, Chandigarh University has expanded the program with 60 industry-oriented courses across different clusters. These include subjects in AI, robotics, machine learning, cloud computing, taxation, fintech, smart cities, cancer biology, digital communication and critical thinking.

The engineering cluster offers the largest share with 23 courses, covering areas such as artificial intelligence, IoT, robotics and cloud computing. The management cluster includes 15 courses, such as airline operations, business analytics and personal branding. The liberal arts cluster offers 6 creative and skill-building courses, including architectural design, journalism and visual storytelling.

There are also 8 common-to-all cluster courses for students from every stream, including communication skills, financial literacy and entrepreneurship. In addition, the university has introduced 5 interdisciplinary courses in the engineering and management category, 1 integrated course across engineering, management and science, and 2 focused programs in the sciences cluster, where bioinformatics and environmental sustainability are key areas.

Each course cluster has been designed in line with global industry requirements. A major advantage is that students can complete these courses online from home, allowing them to balance academic study with skill development in a convenient way.

The program is supported through collaborations with respected industry partners such as Intel, AWS Academy, EC-Council, SAS, Altium, Tally, The Australia Today, LifeSenz and others. These partnerships ensure that students learn in line with current industry standards and are exposed to content that is both relevant and practical.

The certification-based model helps students gain verified skills while continuing their degree studies. That balance between formal education and industry learning is one of the strongest features of the program. It gives students the flexibility to build their profiles in a structured manner, without waiting until the final years of college to become career ready.

The first-year response of 1,856 certifications shows that students have embraced the initiative with enthusiasm. It also reflects the growing demand for education models that support both academic achievement and professional growth.

CU UP Pro Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Thipendra P. Singh said, “the Chandigarh University was delighted with the strong response to the Advanced Credit Program. In the past year, students completed 1,856 industry certifications, which shows that today’s learners are ready to strengthen their degree with industry-required skills.

Singh further added, “Chandigarh University’s focus has always been to make students industry-ready from the beginning. Through ACP, students have gained access to learning in future-oriented fields such as AI, machine learning, cybersecurity, cloud computing and data science, which has strengthened both their skills and confidence.

The success of the Advanced Credit Program demonstrates how Chandigarh University is building an education model that goes beyond traditional teaching. By enabling students to earn certifications, build flexible credit pathways and access industry-aligned content early, the university is helping shape a more practical and employability-focused academic journey.

As the program returns for the 2026–27 batch, it is expected to continue supporting students who want to learn beyond the classroom and prepare themselves for the demands of a rapidly changing global job market. For Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh, the ACP is not just an add-on; it is a strategic step toward creating a generation of skilled, confident and industry-ready graduates.

About Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow)

Envisioned to foster a culture of sustainability and empower future global leaders, Chandigarh University, Uttar Pradesh, immerses 21st-century learners in a personalised and experiential learning experience, integrating an AI-powered academic model and a multidimensional, futuristic perspective on education. Our Uttar Pradesh campus carries forward the venerable legacy of more than a decade of Chandigarh University, Punjab, which has established itself as India’s No. 1 Private University and a torchbearer of groundbreaking pedagogy and research-driven innovation. The AI-augmented new campus offers a broad spectrum of industry-driven futuristic academic programs encompassing data-driven insights, virtual reality experiences, real-world simulations, corporate mentorship, international perspective, interdisciplinary research, cultivation of entrepreneurial spirit, and professional competencies.

https://www.culko.in/

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Technology

Temu Responds to European Commission Statement of Grounds Under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation

Published

2 hours ago

August 1, 2026

DUBLIN, Aug. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Temu today issued the following statement in response to the European Commission’s Statement of Grounds concerning the Commission’s December 2025 inspection at Temu’s premises in Dublin:

Temu does not agree with the Commission’s preliminary findings in its Statement of Grounds. Temu cooperated fully and complied with all the requests the Commission made during the inspection. We will analyze and respond to the statement of grounds and trust the Commission will reconsider its position.

Temu also categorically denies having received any foreign subsidies that distort the internal market. Temu is committed to fair competition. The Company generates sustained cash flows from its own operating activities that are sufficient to fund Temu’s operations in the EU. We do not need to count on “foreign subsidies” to fund any competitive activities or to create any competitive advantage in the internal market.

We remain committed to continuing to cooperate with the Commission and comply with all our legal obligations under EU law.

SOURCE Temu