Monster.com offers to acquire Jobline international - 06/2001

Monster.com(R) has announced that TMP Worldwide is making a recommended cash offer to acquire all of the issued and outstanding stock of Jobline International AB (Stockholm Stock Exchange: JOBL). The acquisition of Jobline, one of Europeís leading online professional search companies, will further solidify Monsterís presence in Europe by increasing brand recognition, site traffic, and resume postings. As part of Monster.comís overall global expansion strategy, the Jobline acquisition introduces Monster.com into four new European countries: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Switzerland, bolstering Monsterís total number of European sites to 14 and international sites to 20.

TMP has offered a purchase price of 30.70 SEK per share, payable on the date of closing of the acquisition, and subject to adjustment for stock splits and other similar recapitalizations. Joblineís shares are listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. The total value of the offer to the shareholders of Jobline amounts to approximately 1,196,534,209 SEK, equal to approximately $ U.S. 115.5, as of May 25, 2001. Joblineís Board of Directors has concluded that the offer is fair and recommended to Joblineís shareholders to accept it.
The integration of Monster.comís and Joblineís products and services in Europe will provide job seekers with access to quality career opportunities as well as support services and guidance, as employers will gain access to a database of over two million quality candidates. ìOur acquisition of Jobline is a tremendous step forward for Monster.comís European expansion strategy,î said Jeff Taylor, CEO of Monster.com. ìMonster.com is the online career management leader in the United States, France and the United Kingdom, while Jobline is widely considered one of Europeís top online recruitment sites, holding either the number one or two position in several countries. With the integration of Jobline into our existing European platform, Monster.com is poised to offer a compelling array of expanded services and opportunities for job seekers and employees throughout Europe and across the globe.î

The first European recruitment site, Jobline was founded in 1997 in Sweden by Lars-Henrik Friis-Molin and is headed by Toon Bouten, Jobline president and CEO. Jobline currently operates in 11 European countries with 23 offices across Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.

With over one million registered jobseekers, visits to Joblineís sites grew from 13.8 million in Q4 2000 to nearly 17 million visitors in Q1 2001, as audited by MMXI/NetCheck. With more than 66.6 million page impressions in Q1 2001, Jobline is a dominant player in the European market.

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