StepStone announced it has acquired an option to purchase Jobfinder

StepStone today announces it has acquired an option to purchase Jobfinder, a supplier of e-recruitment services in Austria. The option is exercisable from 1st January 2007.

This move will further strengthen StepStoneís market-leading position as a provider of e-recruitment software and services in German-speaking countries in Western and Central Europe.

Founded in 1998, Jobfinder is an e-recruitment pioneer in Austria where it operates the jobsite, www.jobfinder.at; the personnel consultant site, www.jobnews.at; and a career and jobsite for students, www.unijobs.at.

Across its portfolio of websites, Jobfinder has more than 700 clients including some of Europeís leading brands such as Magna, Baxter, Ikea, Novartis, Baumax and Fabasoft as well as the majority of Austriaís recruitment consultancies.

StepStone in Germany has approximately 3,000 clients for its services and software across a number of sectors including retail, engineering, IT and telecommunications, sales and marketing and financial services. Some recent customer wins for StepStone include McDonalds Deutschland, SAS, Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, the BBC, Velux and DHL. Across its European job board portfolio StepStone has

Ralf Baumann, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of StepStone Deutschland AG comments, ìJobfinderís professionalism, dedication and the results orientated approach that it provides for customers make it an excellent match for our business.î

He continues, ìThe acquisition of Jobfinder would benefit StepStone in two ways. Firstly, Austria is a key market that will add value to our wider European portfolio. Secondly, it will enable us to extend our offering to the many German companies that operate subsidiaries in Austria. It will also help us to provide our existing German clients with access to an even larger pool of Austrian management and executive candidates.î

For JobFinder, the acquisition would represent a significant milestone for the Austrian e-recruitment market as Florens Eblinger, CEO of Jobfinder Austria GmBH explains, ìThrough a partnership with StepStone, we would move a step closer to our goal of making our company the number one e-recruitment service provider in Austria. StepStone has an excellent reputation internationally and a partnership would provide our customers with greater coverage and access to a pan-European network of quality candidates.

Eblinger adds, ìIn addition, our customers would gain access to StepStoneís innovative e-recruitment tools to help them manage their recruitment processes more efficiently. This offering will ultimately enhance JobFinderís ability to provide our customers with a competitive advantage in their recruitment activities.î