NEW YORK (AFX) - Monster Worldwide Inc., parent company of jobs site Monster.com, said Thursday it agreed to sell its TMP Worldwide Advertising & Communications business in North America to private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson for $45 million.
The company expects to see net proceeds of about $25 million for the unit, which brought in $40.5 million in revenue and 3 cents per share for the six months ended June 30. The company had expected the unit to contribute 5 to 6 cents per share to earnings in the second half.
Monster anticipates recording a loss on the sale in the range of $120 million to $130 million, including roughly $133 million of goodwill.
The sale, which includes all TMP Worldwide's business in the United States and Canada, completes the divestiture of Monster's global recruitment advertising agency business. The company sold its TMP Worldwide businesses in Europe during the second quarter.
Monster said the deal will allow it to focus its resources on the global expansion of its online recruitment operations and the Monster brand. The company also said the transaction would enable TMP Worldwide to further its role as a recruitment advertising agency, and that the two firms would continue to collaborate on various recruitment campaigns.
Last year, Monster also sold its Yellow Pages advertising services segment in 2005 to Audax Group for $80 million.
Shares of Monster Worldwide fell 56 cents in aftermarket activity to $40.18, after finishing at $40.74 on the Nasdaq.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.