Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:MWW) announced today that it has entered
into a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of Yahoo! HotJobs, a
leading online recruitment website, from Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) for $225
million in cash. Monster and Yahoo! have also entered into a three year
commercial traffic agreement, to take effect upon the closing of the
acquisition, in which Monster will become Yahoo!’s provider of career
and job content on the Yahoo! homepage in the United States and Canada.
The traffic agreement calls for performance based annual payments
calculated by clicks and expressions of interest, subject to annual
floors and ceilings. In addition, the traffic agreement provides Monster
with an exclusive right for a period of time following the closing of
the acquisition to negotiate similar traffic agreements with Yahoo!
properties on a global basis, including countries in Europe, Asia and
Latin America, subject to certain limitations.
“HotJobs with its significant customer base plus the traffic agreement
are an ideal complement to Monster’s innovative recruitment solutions
and global reach,” said Sal Iannuzzi, chairman, chief executive officer
and president of Monster Worldwide. “These agreements, combined with
Monster’s career Communities and our recently introduced 6Sense™
semantic search technology, will bring substantial new benefits for
employers seeking more qualified candidates and job seekers searching
for more relevant opportunities across a wider range of industries –
globally.”
“Bringing together Monster and HotJobs creates even greater access and
opportunities for both recruiters and job seekers,” said Hilary
Schneider, EVP, Yahoo!. “The transaction with Monster enables us to
continue to provide an important service to our users through the
traffic agreement. Yahoo! remains focused on its core businesses and
delivering exceptional experiences to users, partners and advertisers.”
Monster believes that the acquisition of HotJobs and the traffic
agreement with Yahoo! will provide a number of benefits to jobseekers
and employers, who today have more diverse competitive choices than ever
before, and a value to all of its stakeholders, including its
shareholders. These include:
Anticipated increase in job matches and search efficiencies –
By
bringing more diverse job and career opportunities, tools and resources
together in one place, employers and job seekers will enjoy greater
convenience and more precise search results and better matches with
Monster’s patented 6Sense™ search technology and other innovative
products.
Expected expansion of job seeker pool for employers – Monster
will be able to offer its employers a significantly larger pool of
candidates across diverse geographies and industries. Based on Media
Metrix comScore reporting, last year HotJobs averaged 12.6 million
unique visitors per month.
Expected expansion of the number of job postings across industries
for job seekers –Through the combination of Monster and HotJobs job
postings, job seekers will have access to more job opportunities in one
place in those industries currently leading job creation, including
healthcare, finance and insurance, retail, manufacturing, information
and wholesale trade.
Broader reach anticipated for recruitment advertising through
additional media alliances and reseller agreement – With the
addition of HotJobs’s network of more than 600 daily and weekly
newspapers, Monster’s alliances with local papers will grow to a total
of approximately 1,000, giving Monster reach in all 50 states. The
additional newspaper alliances, through their online and print
classified ads, will further Monster’s current strategy of connecting
job seekers with smaller, local businesses, particularly in healthcare,
education, and skilled and hourly job categories.
Yahoo! will continue to manage its broader Newspaper Consortium (NPC)
partnership, including providing both search and display advertising,
content distribution, and its ad-serving platform, to newspapers in its
NPC.
The transaction is subject to clearance under Hart-Scott-Rodino
Antitrust Improvements Act and other customary closing conditions. The
transaction is currently expected to close sometime during the third
quarter of 2010, subject to regulatory review. Monster expects to
realize operating synergies from the acquisition and currently
anticipates the transaction will be breakeven on a pro forma full year
earnings in 2010 and accretive thereafter, inclusive of the costs
incurred under the traffic agreement.
Stone Key Partners LLC and Bank of America Merrill Lynch acted as
financial advisors to Monster in connection with this transaction. Allen
& Company LLC provided a fairness opinion to Monster’s Board.
Monster to Host Investor Call (Q4
Financial Results)
February 3, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. ET
Monster will host an investor conference call at 5:00 p.m. ET today.
Individuals wishing to participate can join the conference call by
dialing (877) 760-8985 at 4:50 pm and reference conference ID#:
52168293. Those outside the United States should dial (706) 758-9636.
Monster’s quarterly conference call can also be accessed online through
the Company's Investor Relations website at http://ir.monster.com.
Special Note:
Except for historical information
contained herein, the statements made in this release, constitute
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934.
Such forward-looking statements involve certain risks and
uncertainties, including statements regarding the Company's strategic
direction, prospects and future results. Certain factors, including
factors outside of our control, may cause actual results to differ
materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements,
including economic and other conditions in the markets in which we
operate, risks associated with acquisitions or dispositions, competition
and the other risks discussed in our Form 10-K and our other filings
made with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which discussions are
incorporated in this release by reference.
About Monster Worldwide
Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: MWW), parent company of Monster®, the
premier global online employment solution for more than a decade,
strives to inspire people to improve their lives. With a local presence
in key markets in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America, Monster
works for everyone by connecting employers with quality job seekers at
all levels and by providing personalized career advice to consumers
globally. Through online media sites and services, Monster delivers
vast, highly targeted audiences to advertisers. Monster Worldwide is a
member of the S&P 500 index. To learn more about Monster's
industry-leading products and services, visit www.Monster.com.
For more about Monster Worldwide, visit www.about-Monster.com.