CareerBuilder + Monster, which once dominated online job boards, file for bankruptcy

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By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) -CareerBuilder + Monster, which once dominated the online recruitment industry, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday and said it plans to sell its businesses.

Created through the September merger of CareerBuilder and Monster, the Chicago-based company said it agreed to sell its job board operations, its most recognizable business, to JobGet, which has an app for so-called gig workers.

CareerBuilder + Monster also agreed to sell its software services business for federal and state governments to Canadian software company Valsoft, and the military.com and fastweb.com websites to Canadian media company Valnet.

The buyers agreed to act as “stalking horse” bidders, with sales subject to better offers. Terms were not disclosed.

According to papers filed in Delaware bankruptcy court, CareerBuilder + Monster has $50 million to $100 million of assets, and $100 million to $500 million of debts.

The company is lining up $20 million of financing to keep operating in bankruptcy.

In a statement, Chief Executive Jeff Furman said CareerBuilder + Monster has faced a “challenging and uncertain macroeconomic environment,” and a court-supervised sale process was the best way to maximize value and preserve jobs.

According to published reports, the company has struggled with competition from other job platforms, including aggregators and social media websites such as LinkedIn.

CareerBuilder + Monster is owned by private equity firm Apollo Global Management and Dutch staffing company Randstad.

AlixPartners and the law firm Latham & Watkins are advising CareerBuilder + Monster as it restructures.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New YorkEditing by Nick Zieminski)