Yahoo makes rival $436 million bid to acquire HotJobs - 12/2001

Yahoo! Inc. has offered to buy HotJobs Inc. for about $436 million in cash and stock, launching a bidding war for the popular online recruiting site that had reached a deal to merge with Monster.com parent company TMP Worldwide Inc.

Yahoo said its offer of $10.50 per share in cash and stock represents a 23 percent premium over TMP's stock-swap offer, and analysts said they thought Yahoo had a good chance of winning the bidding war. HotJobs and TMP were both unavailable to comment on the unsolicited offer.

Yahoo, which has been looking for ways to diversify its revenue base beyond online advertising, said in a statement that adding HotJobs to its site would deepen its presence in one of the most successful online consumer businesses.

A combination of Yahoo and HotJobs could create a powerful new force in the recruitment marketplace, Yahoo Chief Executive Terry Semel said in a letter to HotJobs Chief Executive Dimitri Boylan.

The letter said Yahoo saw recruitment as a valuable part of its future growth strategies.

Yahoo's broad reach, distribution, and desire to commit significant resources to this opportunity, together with HotJobs's experienced management team, large consumer base, diversified customer base and well-trained sales force, would help create a winning combination, he said in the letter.

Although Internet recruitment sites have struggled along with other dot-com businesses in the current tough economy, they are viewed as better positioned than most to ride out the storm. Sites like HotJobs.com and Monster.com have enjoyed steady increases in visits from jobseekers and recruiters, who seem to appreciate the efficiencies the Internet provides.

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