Acquisition mania: news of the job board and recruitment marketing industry

Sometimes, it seems like the industry news is pretty random – and sometimes, it seems to be trending in a particular direction. As we saw in last month’s roundup, there were – along with the usual funding rounds – a number of acquisitions. Guess what? It’s happening again! Let’s see who was bought, and who was sold:

• Adzuna acquires GetWork: Adzuna continues to expand their presence in North America with the acquisition of GetWork. The latter was spun out of Minneapolis-based job market data company LinkUp a year ago. Getwork and Adzuna will continue to operate as independent brands with their own established communities of jobseekers. This  follows Adzuna’s launch into four new countries, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain and Mexico, with the job search engine now operating across 20 markets globally. Congrats to both parties!
• Headhunter.ru acquires Job.kg: Russia-based recruitment vertical HeadHunter bought out the stakes of leading Kyrgyz recruitment classified Job.kg. The main goal of the buyout is to further promote and develop recruitment services within HeadHunter.kg.Job.Kg was founded in 2004 by Larixon Jobs Network. In 2018, the site was bought out by Hearst Shkulev Media publishing house and included in the Zarplata.ru service. Congrats!
• Bravado makes acquisition and raises funds: Bravado, a B2B sales professional network, announced it completed the acquisition of Compgauge, a Jacksonville-based provider of comprehensive salary data, company reviews and interview insights for tech sales careers. Additionally, the company announced a $26 million Series B funding round led by Tiger Global. The round brings total funding at Bravado to $41 million. Somebody is getting big fast.
• BetterPlace acquires ezeDox: Blue-collar workforce management company BetterPlace has acquired ezeDox, a Bengaluru-based workforce management site, less than two weeks after its acquisition of gig-work site OkayGo. According to a report, ezeDox was previously valued at $2 million. Its focus was predominantly on the blue- and gray-collar jobs sectors. This is part of BetterPlace’s strategy to consolidate the fragmented frontline-workforce management space, which the company values at $80 billion. Interesting.
• Eden Life acquires Lynk: Nigeria-based concierge services startup Eden Life has acquired Lynk, a Kenya-based leading blue-collar jobs site. Eden Life connects busy professionals with quality chef-cooked meals, house cleaning, and laundry services. Following its $1.4m financial injection last year, the acquisition helps Eden Life expand its services to Kenyan cities.  Since Lynk began operations in 2015, it has facilitated over 150,000 jobs, transferring US$4.5 million to more than 2,000 workers across 4 major verticals. Congrats!
• Grupa Pracuj buys HR tech softgarden: Poland’s Grupa Pracuj has acquired German HR software management firm softgarden from Investcorp for $125 million to strengthen its presence in Germany. softgarden’s recruitment software platform enables its customers to streamline and manage their entire digital recruitment process in an integrated and data-privacy-compliant manner. In other Grupa Pracuj news, the company saw revenue increase by 40.8% and net profit by 55.7% in Q1 of FY2022. Revenues from Ukraine accounted for 7.4% of the total revenues of Grupa Pracuj while the rest came mainly from the activities of Pracuj.pl and applicant tracking system ERecruiter. Wow.
• TestGorilla raises funds: Recruitment screening and assessment platform TestGorilla has secured $70 million from a Series A funding round. TestGorrilla prioritizes skills-based hiring because it believes it gives each candidate the same opportunity to prove their suitability for a role. It wants to replace CVs with scientifically validated tests to get rid of bias in the candidate selection process so employers can recruit more diverse candidates. Decent raise.
• SkillPointe raises cash: SkillPointe, a three-sided marketplace focuses on the skilled worker shortage, announced the closing of a $2.25 million Series B-3 financing round. The site offers everything from self-assessment tools to access to training programs including unique scholarship funding. It also hosts thousands of listings for well-paying skills-based jobs. Interesting.
• London-based Flexa lands €2.7 million: London-based Flexa wants to enable companies to showcase what their working environments truly offer when it comes to flexibility and benefits. The female-led startup just picked up €2.7 million in fresh funding to do so. Flexa vets and verifies companies through a two-stage benchmarking process; looking at everything from their approach to working location, through to what benefits are on offer, and then surveying how their current employees feel about working there. Intriguing.
• MiraiWorks has record sales: Japan-based freelance marketplace operator MiraiWorks posted its highest number of sales yet for the second quarter ending in March. Founded in March 2012, Mirai Works owns and operates FreeConsultant.jp, which helps professional freelancers find projects, side job board Skill-shift.com and GlocalMissionJobs.jp, a job site for managers and executives. In Q2, net sales rose to Y1.5 billion ($12 million U.S.) from Y1.3 billion ($10.2 million) in the corresponding period a year earlier, marking 16% growth. Up up up.
• iHire launches candidate podcast: iHire has launched “Find Your Niche: A Career Podcast.” Hosted by Certified Career Advisor and iHire Co-Founder Lori Cole, the bi-weekly podcast explores the journeys of job seekers from all walks of life to inspire listeners to find work that aligns with their passions. Each 25-minute episode of “Find Your Niche” features an interview with a guest from a different industry who has successfully identified and pursued their career calling. Good luck!
• CleverConnect merges with Talentry:  CleverConnect and Talentry have just announced they will be joining forces. Founded in Paris in 2010, CleverConnect is helping over 2,500 companies across Europe to rethink their recruitment strategy. The HRtech startup, which recently raised €30 million, has developed an innovative SaaS solution for time-shifted video interviews, intelligent career pages with AI, and matching technology for resumes. Talentry pioneered a digital employee referral program. Interesting.
• RippleMatch raises cash: New York-based college recruiting startup RippleMatch raised $45 million in Series B funding, the company announced. The investment values the company at $205 million. The company has a a platform that uses AI to match college students with jobs and give employers a more diverse pool of candidates. The new funding will allow RippleMatch to double the size of its 130-person staff, add analytics for employers and improve the company’s algorithm to triple the success rate of users getting a first-round interview. Interesting.
• InfoEdge revenue up: Info Edge India Ltd., the parent company of Naukri and 99Acres, has posted $201.6 million U.S. in operational revenue for the financial year ending March 31, 2022. Core revenue is up 38.5% year-on-year. The revenue for FY20-21 stood at $145.5 million. Factoring in other income, Info Edge’s total income for FY21-22 stands at $223.5 million. Impressive.

I told you there were a lot of acquisitions! Something in the air – or water. Perhaps you’ll be the next one acquired – or acquiring. If so…let me know.

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