China’s 51Job acquires majority stake in VC-backed Lagou
US-listed Chinese recruitment site 51Job has agreed to acquire a 60% stake in industry peer Beijing Lagou Network Technology, which is backed by Qiming Venture Partners and other VC investors, for $119 million.
Lagou will retain its independent status and management structure after the transaction, which is expected to close by the end of this year. Existing investors will still hold shares in the company, although it has not been disclosed whether the VC backers have made partial exits. Lagou plans to list in the US by 2019, a statement said.
Launched in 2013, Lagou specializes in connecting job seekers with employers in the internet and technology sector. It currently has more than 250,000 corporate users and 10 million registered individual users on its platform.
The company received angel funding from Decent Ventures and ZhenFund in 2013. One year later, Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI) provided a $5 million Series A round and this was followed by a $25 million Series B led by Qiming. Last year, local investor Hongdao Capital led a RMB220 million ($34 million) Series C round.
51Job.com was established in 1998 and listed in the US in 2004. It offers recruitment solutions, training and assessment, and human outsourcing and consulting services across a variety of industries. As of the end of last year, the company had more than 460,000 corporate clients on its online platforms.
As part of the agreement, Lagou will share 51Job’s client base and resources, with a view to developing an integrated human resource solutions platform. The addition of the Lagou platform will also further expand and deepen 51Job’s services ecosystem for both employers and job seekers.
“[In] combining Lagou’s targeted strengths in the technology vertical with 51Job’s extensive sales resources and large user base, we are excited about opportunities to enhance the recruitment experience and improve hiring effectiveness in this important industry segment,” Rick Yan, 51Job's president and CEO, said in a separate statement.
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