Online job hunting firm CareerBuilder + Monster files bankruptcy

Reshmi Basu and Luca Casiraghi

(Bloomberg) — Careerbuilder + Monster, a firm that brought together early trailblazers in online job recruiting, filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware on Tuesday as business continues to shrivel.

The company said it started a Chapter 11 process to facilitate a sale of the operations, according to a statement. Chapter 11 filings allow a company to continue operating while it works out a creditor-repayment plan.

CareerBuilder and Monster both launched during the 1990s and popularized online job searching just as internet use was going mainstream. The two companies were rolled into a joint venture last year, with Apollo Global Management Inc. having a controlling stake and staffing agency Randstad NV being a minority shareholder.

Under the bankruptcy plan, the jobs board business would be sold to JobGet Inc. while Monster Media Properties would be bought by Valnet Inc. Monster Government Services, which provides management software to state and federal goverments, would be transferred to Valsoft Corp. These firms are the stalking horse bidders, and the completion of asset sales is subject to higher and better offers.

Careerbuilder + Monster also said it is in talks with Blue Torch Capital for as much as $20 million of debtor-in-possession financing. A workforce reduction is part of the plan as well, Chief Executive Officer Jeff Furman said in the statement.

Bloomberg News reported last week that the venture was working with advisers on a potential bankruptcy filing while weighing multiple restructuring options. CareerBuilder’s revenue plunged nearly 40% last year, according to Moody’s Ratings.