Jobs site Monster posts monster 26% gain on sale

Job listings site Monster Worldwide said Tuesday that it had agreed to sell itself for $429 million, including the assumption of debt, to Netherlands-based global recruiter Randstad Holding.

The acquirer plans to maintain the Monster.com website and branding and continue operating the company as a separate entity.

Randstad will pay $3.40 per share in cash for Monster (MWW), whose shares rocketed 26.4% higher to close at $3.50 on the news.

Monster's operations have come under pressure from the emergence of professional social networking site LinkedIn, which more than doubled its job listings in 2015 and recently agreed to a $26 billion sale to Microsoft.

"Joining Randstad provides a unique opportunity to accelerate our ability to connect more people to more jobs," Monster CEO Tim Yates said in a statement. "Together with Randstad, Monster will be better positioned to fulfill our core mission, and our employees will benefit from becoming part of a larger, more diversified company."

Randstad has some 4,500 branches worldwide and nearly 30,000 employees and says it helps 2 million people find jobs annually.

Monster's revenue has been slumping, having fallen 8% in 2015 to $666.9 million.

Follow Paste BN reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.