Schibsted increases its stake in InfoJobs to 98.5 %

Schibsted has entered into an agreement to acquire its Spanish partner Primerama’s shares in InfoJobs, the clear market leading online recruitment portal in Spain and the leader in Italy. After the transaction Schibsted will be the direct owner of 98.5 % of InfoJobs, compared with the former indirect exposure of 75.2 %. Schibsted also gets the control over 73 % of InfoJobs Italy, compared with the former exposure of 56 %.

 

For Schibsted, the transaction secures full control over a profitable operation in a market with strong potential for growth. The Spanish employment market has seen significant declines during the last 12-18 months, and the timing of the transaction is regarded as good.

 

The agreement is a result of negotiations following Primerama’s announcement in February 2009 regarding it exercising its rights to sell 12 % of Anuntis Segundamano Holding, including InfoJobs, to Schibsted. The agreement implies that Primerama no longer has interests in InfoJobs, but keeps its 23.77 % of the rest of the Anuntis operation. Primerama has the right to sell its Anuntis shares to Schibsted according to certain procedures, and Schibsted has the right to acquire Primerama’s Anuntis shares in the second half of 2013. The Anuntis operation entails leading positions in the Spanish online classifieds market for cars, real estate and general merchandise. Anuntis also has operations in Argentina, Brazil, Columbia and Mexico.

 

Schibsted’s acquisition of InfoJobs shares implies a value of the operation of EUR 185 million on a 100 % basis (enterprise value). Net of debt allocated to InfoJobs, Schibsted pays out EUR 33 million for the shares. The transaction closed today. Sverre Munck, EVP International, will take over as Chairman of the Board of Directors in InfoJobs with immediate effect.

 

InfoJobs has been impacted by the weak Spanish employment market, and in first half 2009 revenues declined by 33 %. Revenues last 12 months, as of Q2 2009, were EUR 37 million. Based on the last 12 months of operation, as of Q2 2009, the implied transaction EV/EBITDA multiple is below 10. For comparison, the average EV/EBITDA multiple for Monster, SeLoger and Rightmove, based on 2009 estimates, is 16.5 (source: UBS estimates).

 

– InfoJobs has been able to maintain its market positions and good operating performance even in the very difficult situation in the Spanish market. We think the timing for increasing our exposure to this company is right, states Sverre Munck.

 

About InfoJobs:

         Clear leader in the Spanish online recruitment market. The largest non-governmental online portal in Europe.

         95,018 job offers in the database.

         31,714 job postings on the site

         7,067,162 CVs in the database

         5.1 million unique visitors in September 2009 (Source: Nielsen Netratings)

         Revenues last 12 months, as of Q2 2009, were EUR 37 million.

         InfoJobs.it, the leading online recruitment portal in Italy measured by traffic and number of job offers, is 74 % owned by InfoJobs.

         Schibsted owns 98.5 % of InfoJobs. 1.5 % is held by employees and founders of the company. Schibsted has the right to acquire the minority shares from 2014 and the minorities have the right to sell to Schibsted in 2012 and 2013.

 

 

EVP International, Sverre Munck, tel: +47 916 86 699

CFO Trond Berger, tel: +47 916 86 695

 

 

Oslo, 16 October 2009

SCHIBSTED ASA

 

Jo Christian Steigedal

VP Investor Relations