Microsoft Buys 4% Equity In CareerBuilder.com

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 9, 2007

Microsoft Corporation announced today that they have bought an equity stake in CareerBuilder. CareerBuilder is Monster’s biggest competitor.

Other owners in CareerBuilder include Gannett Co. Inc. (40.8%), Tribune Company (40.8%), and The McClatchy Company (14.4%).

This deal makes CareerBuilder.com serve as MSN Career’s exclusive content supplier until at least 2013.

Also, CareerBuilder will pay MSN $443 million over seven years depending on the quality and quantity of MSN traffic delivery (Source: Chicago Tribune).

“Our strategic business relationship with MSN played a major part in CareerBuilder taking over as the industry leader in 2006, helping to drive critical levels of job-search traffic,” stated Matt Ferguson, the CEO of CareerBuilder. “Microsoft’s equity stake builds on this successful relationship and establishes a global alliance with one of the world’s most ubiquitous technology powerhouses.”

Earlier this month, Google was rumored to acquire SimplyHired.  Microsoft’s deal may advance talks and may also lead to an acquisition of SimplyHired.

CareerBuilder is based in Chicago, IL and has affiliations with CollegeClub.com, Experience.com, and iVillage.com.