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HotJobs likes Yahoo!
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December 24, 2001: 11:30 a.m. ET
Online employment site calls Yahoo! offer 'superior' to earlier one from TMP.
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - HotJobs.com Inc. said Monday it will accept a takeover bid from Yahoo! Inc. unless the owner of a rival that had agreed to buy the online job recruitment Web site raises its offer.
Yahoo! earlier this month offered to pay about $436 million in cash and stock for HotJobs, a bid that was deemed a superior proposal, HotJobs said. TMP Worldwide Inc., owner of the Monster.com employment site, has until Thursday morning to match or beat the Yahoo! offer, first made Dec. 12, according to the terms of its agreement with HotJobs.
"We are aware of the release, but we have no comment at this time," TMP spokesman David Rosa told CNNfn Monday. "We will be making a statement at the appropriate time."
Under the bid from Yahoo! (YHOO: Research, Estimates), the online portal would acquire all outstanding HotJobs (HOTJ: Research, Estimates) shares for stock and cash valued at about $10.50 a share. That represents almost no premium over HotJobs' closing price of $10.47 a share Friday.
Yahoo!! said it was pleased with the response from HotJobs' board, adding a merger of Yahoo! and HotJobs would forge a "powerful new force in the recruitment marketplace," and benefit HotJobs' customers, clients and shareholders.
The value of TMP's offer has dropped to about $341 million from about $498 million when it was originally announced June 29, due to a drop in its stock price.
If the all-stock merger with TMP, first announced June 29, falls through, TMP would be entitled to a $15 million termination fee and reimbursement of up to $2 million of documented expenses for accountants, attorneys and financial advisors.
The TMP offer has been held up by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, reportedly due to antitrust concerns. 
from staff and wire reports
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