Why Monster Worldwide Roared Higher

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of job matchmaker Monster Worldwide (NYS: MWW) are roaring higher today by upward of 23% on reports that the company has attracted potential buyers.

So what: Two months ago, Monster made it clear that it was interested in selling itself, as CEO Sal Iannuzzi said the company was "pursuing all strategic alternatives" and subsequently retained financial advisors to help evaluate its options. Reuters is reporting that disruptive professional networker LinkedIn (NYS: LNKD) and private equity firm Silver Lake Partners are among potentially interested parties.

Now what: According to the report, Monster is planning on sending out some financial details to possible buyers by the end of next week, giving shareholders hope that a deal may be on the horizon. While Monster's share of the online recruitment market is estimated at 23%, notably higher than LinkedIn's roughly 16%, the old model of posting job ads is ripe for disruption from social media players like LinkedIn. Monster's top line is indeed heading the wrong way as sales slipped 6% last quarter to $246.1 million, as LinkedIn's sales just doubled to $188.5 million. Both Monster and LinkedIn opted not to provide any official commentary to the speculation.

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At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Evan Niu holds no position in any company mentioned. Click here to see his holdings and a short bio. The Motley Fool owns shares of LinkedIn. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of LinkedIn. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.

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