Silver Lake Partners Expresses Interest In Monster Acquisition: Report

By Michael Nunez | May 11 2012 8:40 PM

The LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD), the business-related social-networking company that raised $352 million in its initial public offering a year ago, considered buying online job-listings provider Monster Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: MWW), but decided against the purchase, according to Reuters.

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The LinkedIn Corp., the business-related social-networking company, considered buying online job-listings provider Monster Worldwide Inc., but decided against the purchase, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, the private-equity firm Silver Lake Partners continues to have interest.
REUTERS/Mike Segar

A display of employment-tip pamphlets waits for attendees at a job fair sponsored by Monster.com as part of its "Keep America Working" tour at a hotel in New York's Times Square on March 5, 2009. The LinkedIn Corp., the business-related social-networking company, considered buying Monster Worldwide Inc., but decided against the purchase, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, the private-equity firm Silver Lake Partners continues to have interest.

Meanwhile, the private-equity firm Silver Lake Partners continues to have interest in a Monster acquisition, Reuters reported.

Monster, the company behind Monster.com, retained Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Stone Key Partners in March to review strategic alternatives, Reuters said. These alternatives include selling all or part of the company.

Any Monster deal would come at a time when job listings have become more prevalent on sites such as Craigslist, LinkedIn, and others that specialize in specific industries. The barriers to entry in online employment advertising are extremely low. As a result, job-listings providers such as Monster.com have suffered.

The Reuters report prompted a 19.01 percent jump in Monster's share price Friday, when it closed at $9.33.