Michael Page, the recruitment company, has rebuffed an unsolicited takeover offer from Adecco, the world’s largest recruiter, which it says undervalues the British group.

Shares in Michael Page, which has been hit by the slowdown in its key financial services market, soared after news of the bid, believed to be between 350p and 400p a share.

Its shares closed up more than 32 per cent or 86¾p at 352p, an eight-month high. The company, which has 166 offices in 128 countries, is now valued at more than £1 billion.

Michael Page confirmed that Adecco had made what it called an unsolicited preliminary approach, but added: “The board of Michael Page continues to believe that the company has a very strong future as an independent group.”

Shares in the company have fallen from 600p last year and one analyst said that a bid in the region of 400p would probably be acceptable to shareholders if it were mainly cash rather than Adecco shares. Analysts were surprised that Adecco, which concentrates on blue-collar recruitment, wanted to increase its exposure to the professional sector, given the huge losses in the financial industry and the uncertain economic outlook. Michael Page conceded last month that recruitment in London’s financial services sector had ground to a halt.

Paul Jones, an analyst for Panmure Gordon, said: “A deal of this size, at this stage of the cycle, is something of a brave move for Adecco, given the economic backdrop.” Buying Michael Page would boost Adecco’s presence in higher-margin professional and permanent staffing and extend its geographic reach as the sector recovers, he said.

With revenues of $30.8 billion (£15.8 billion), Adecco dwarfs Michael Page, which has sales of $1.65 billion. In 2004, Adecco was hit by a financial scandal after its auditors discovered “accounting issues” and “material weaknesses” with internal controls in Adecco Staffing, its North American business. The scandal forced its finance director and the head of Adecco Staffing to resign.

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