Kenexa Announces Acquisition of The Ashbourne Group

WAYNE, PA and LONDON--(Marketwire - Aug 4, 2011) - Kenexa (NASDAQ: KNXA), a global provider of business solutions for human resources, today announced the acquisition of The Ashbourne Group, a supplier of HR and occupational psychology services to businesses in the U.K. and Ireland for almost 20 years. The Ashbourne Group is particularly well recognized for its intense focus on the U.K. public sector as the company has designed and delivered a wide range of behavioral assessment, learning and development products based on government competencies and performance standards.

The U.K. public sector is experiencing unprecedented pressure for change as it tackles the challenge of continuing to deliver improving public services while under significant pressure to reduce public expenditure in line with the Governments' deficit reduction programme. The Ashbourne Group's reputation for designing complex assessment and organizational development solutions for specialist roles and departments within the government reflects their alignment with the standards of the Civil Service Code. Currently, The Ashbourne Group holds contracts with the Central Government Procurement Service for the design and delivery of assessment, recruitment, learning, organizational development and leadership interventions.

Andrew Jackson, head of Kenexa Government Solutions, said, "The pressure on the public sector to improve efficiencies in a cost effective manner is leading to a centralized procurement model. Global vendors such as Kenexa add greater value under this model as we have the bench strength and full range of technology, content and services needed to compete and execute effectively. We believe the combination of The Ashbourne Group's offerings and public sector reputation with our innovation and proven solutions will offer new solutions for the public sector and help further solidify Kenexa as a preferred supplier to the U.K. government."

He continued, "Ashbourne has a strong track record within the public sector and is already accredited by the Government Procurement Service to supply its services across the public sector. The Cabinet Office, Ministry of Justice and HMRC are examples of their central government clients. Together, Kenexa and The Ashbourne Group look forward to helping public sector organizations rise to the significant challenges they currently face."

The Ashbourne Group's company founder, Trevor Pons, commented, "We're delighted to become part of the Kenexa organization as the company has an excellent reputation as an industry leader. We're confident that our customers will benefit from the combined synergies of our companies."

More information about Kenexa's assessment solutions can be accessed here.

About Kenexa
Kenexa® provides business solutions for human resources. We help global organizations multiply business success by identifying the best individuals for every job and fostering optimal work environments for every organization. For more than 20 years, Kenexa has studied human behavior and team dynamics in the workplace, and has developed the software solutions, business processes and expert consulting that help organizations impact positive business outcomes through HR. Kenexa is the only company that offers a comprehensive suite of unified products and services that support the entire employee lifecycle from pre-hire to exit. Additional information about Kenexa and its global products and services can be accessed at www.kenexa.com. Follow Kenexa on Twitter: @kenexa.