Online ad giant Seek set to float Chinese jobs site on Nasdaq: Report

Seek, the business founded by Melbourne brothers Paul and Andrew Bassat 14 years ago which has nabbed 70% of the online job ads market, is reportedly set to float its Chinese employment business in the US.

Seek, which is now led by Andrew after Paul stepped down in June, is expected to sell a small part of its 56% majority stake in China’s number two print and online job ads company Zhaopin in the float, the Australian Financial Review reports. Macquarie Capital, which holds 38%, is tipped to sell most of its shares in the float, which is touted to take place on America’s tech-focused Nasdaq sharemarket.

Seek would not comment on the report this morning, but in its annual report released yesterday said that despite holding 56% of the business, the terms of a shareholders’ agreement mean that it does not exercise control over the entity’s financial and operating policies.

Seek picked up a 25% stake in Zhaopin in 2006 for $US20 million, and paid a further $US50 million to take its stake to 43%, before easing up the register alongside Macquarie.

Seek yesterday said it was very pleased with Zhaopin’s move to profit this financial year, describing the $8.7 million profit as a “very strong result”, after a $3.76 million loss the year before.

Total revenue for the business, which the AFR says has been valued at about $1 billion by Citigroup analyst Justin Diddams, grew by 62%.

“Zhaopin is very well placed on competitive metrics to continue to close the gap with the number one player in China,” Seek said.

Seek said its international portfolio – which comprises five employment businesses across China, South East Asia, Brazil and Mexico – are “less susceptible to macro-economic variability due to the expected growth in internet penetration and the labour markets in which they operate. As a result, we anticipate sustained improvements in the results they derive in their local currencies.”

“In total our international portfolio continued an impressive $17 million to the group’s 2011 net profit after tax, from $1.6 million the year before.”

Seek added it had doubled in size from 2007 to 2011, and it now has “exposure to over two billion people”.