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A spokesperson for Irishjobs.ie confirmed to ElectricNews.Net that it has, along with other players, expressed an interest in TopJobs.ie. However, the spokesperson added that it's not clear whether an acquisition will materialise.
Irishjobs.ie is one of Ireland's top recruitment Web sites; the purchase of TopJobs on the Net's Irish operation and its blue-chip client list would undoubtedly strengthen it further.
According to Irishjobs.ie, it is visited by more than 160,000 different jobseekers every month and has grown the number of vacancies on its site from 7,000 in 1999 to around 17,000 at present. The company employs 25 people in offices in Dublin, Cork and Galway and is headed up Maria Mahon. Founded in 1996, it was bought by Denis O'Brien and Leslie Buckley in 1999.
But Irishjobs.ie is not alone in weighing up a bid for the recruitment Web site. Just hours after the news broke about the demise of TopJobs, on-line recruitment company Jobs in Finance expressed an interest in taking on some of the company's valuable financial client contracts.
TopJobs on the Net Ireland would appear to be an attractive proposition. Prior to its liquidation, it had clients such as AIB, Bank of Ireland and IBM and was reportedly close to profitability. Around 10 people were employed at its Irish operation.
At the time its liquidation was announced, Michael Wallace, the country manager of TopJobs on the Net Ireland, told ElectricNews.Net that there had been interest in the business from financiers and he also indicated that he was considering purchasing it himself via a MBO. Wallace could not be contacted for comment on Friday.
TopJobs on the Net Ireland was liquidated after the financing of its parent company was pulled at the end of September by the Swiss-based Scout24 Group. In February 2001, Scout24 acquired control of TopJobs on the Net. It owns and operates on-line marketplaces across Europe and had estimated revenues of around EUR50 million in 2001.
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