Shares in Michael Page, the recruitment company, today rose to an eight-month high after it confirmed it had received an approach by Adecco, its larger Swiss rival.

Michael Page said today Adecco had made "an unsolicited preliminary approach" but: "The board of Michael Page continues to believe that the company has a very strong future as an independent group."

The company's stock rose as much as 91p to 356p, giving it a market value more than £1 billion. It closed up 86.7p or 32.7 per cent at 352p.

Based in Switzerland, Adecco is the largest recruitment group in the world. Analysts said buying Michael Page would boost Adecco's presence in higher margin professional and permanent staffing, extend its geographic reach and produce cost savings.

However, a bid is also seen as a risky move at a time of uncertainty about the depth and duration of a slowdown in many of the world's leading economies and the knock-on effects on employment.

Only last month, Michael Page said recruitment in London’s financial services sector had ground to a halt.

"A deal of this size at this stage of the cycle is something of a brave move for Adecco, given the economic backdrop,” said Paul Jones, an analyst with Panmure Gordon .

Adecco’s bid comes months after Dutch staffing group Randstad bought Vedior in a €3.2 billion (£2.5 billion) deal, creating the world’s second largest jobs company after Adecco.

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