Italian HR consultancy and payroll provider Codeas bought by SD Worx

Codeas, an Italian HR consultancy and payroll provider, has been acquired by SD Worx, with revenues of €1.3 billion one of Europe’s largest HR and payroll solutions groups.

Founded and led by Serena Codeleoncini, Codeas has a team of around 20 people specialising in consultancy on personnel administration, payroll processing and union relations. The firm, based in Concorezzo (a town near Milan in Lombardy), primarily serves medium-sized companies.

For SD Worx, the acquisition of Codeas further expands its rapidly growing footprint across Europe and strengthens its position in Italy. The Belgium-headquartered company first entered the Italian market in 2021. After several years of organic growth, it accelerated its expansion in 2024 through the acquisition of F2A, at the time one of the leading players in Italy’s personnel administration sector.

Today, Italy is the group’s second-largest market in terms of revenue and number of employees, with approximately 1,400 people. Globally, SD Worx employs around 10,000 people across 27 countries.

“With Codeas, we are welcoming a high-value company that shares our focus on accuracy, reliability and customer service,” said Alessia Rigoni, Managing Director of SD Worx in Italy. Kobe Verdonck, CEO of SD Worx, added: “The strong capabilities and local expertise of Codeas will help us expand the services we can offer to clients in the Italian market.”

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Codeas founder Codeleoncini will retain a minority stake in the company and will remain in her leadership role.

The transaction was advised by KPMG and PedersoliGattai on the buy-side, and by BC& Studio di Consulenza on the sell-side.