StepStone (OSE:STP), the leading European provider of Total Talent
solutions, today announces the acquisition of Sourcea.fr, a leading
French niche market job board focused on Telesales, Banking, Marketing
and Secretarial Services.
This acquisition marks StepStone´s first acquisition in the French
market since 2000, and will complement the company´s existing French
businesses, which includes job board StepStone.fr and StepStone
Solutions France.
Founded in 2000 in by Boris Gourmelen, Sourcea.fr typically
carries over 2,500 job vacancies across several niche sectors
including Telesales, Banking, Marketing and Secretarial Services. By
focussing on jobs for the BAC to BAC+3 level (recently qualified
students from school leavers to Graduates), Sourcea.fr has developed a
large audience of qualified job seekers ranging from students looking
for their first job to experienced job seekers looking for their next
role in their chosen profession.
StepStone has acquired Sourcea for an initial consideration of EUR
1.5 m, to be settled in cash, together with further payments in 2009
dependent upon financial performance in 2008. Boris Gourmelen will
stay with the business and continue to lead his team of fifteen.
Sourcea.fr will continue to operate as a separate online property
alongside StepStone.fr, which will provide complimentary job board
resources and related services.
Ralf Baumann, Group Managing Director for StepStone online,
commented, "Sourcea.fr has a fantastic reputation in this area,
delivering high quality candidates for companies hiring in these niche
sectors. The professionalism and results driven approach of Boris and
his team make them an excellent match for StepStone."
"After 7 years of independent development, this acquisition will
allow us, in 2008 and the following years, to accelerate our
development in France and to deliver better value to customers and job
seekers. Finally, StepStone´s strategy and vision will help Sourcea´s
team to meet those new challenges", said Boris Gourmelen, founder of
Sourcea.fr.
Colin Tenwick, CEO of StepStone commented, "France is one of the
most important job markets in Europe and we are delighted to
strengthen the position of our business by acquiring Sourcea.. The
acquisition enables us to widen our strategy of acquiring successful
online job board properties and utilising our expertise and resources
to accelerate their market positions, and consolidate our leadership
in France, which we believe offers considerable growth potential. I am
confident that the local expertise of the new members of the StepStone
team will make a significant contribution to our success in 2008."
Note to Editors
About StepStone
StepStone was founded in Norway in 1996 and pioneered the
development of online recruitment. Today, StepStone is a leading
provider of total talent management services and technology solutions.
StepStone´s total talent management portfolio spans a full range of
solutions from recruitment to on-boarding, training, career and
succession planning, performance management and more. StepStone´s
public job boards cover 13 European countries, providing high-quality
candidates to recruiters quickly and effectively through individually
focused campaigns. Thousands of organisations including Aviva, BBC,
Amey, Royal Bank of Scotland, AXA, British Airways, Xerox and Fiat use
StepStone´s products and services to help them recruit, develop and
retain qualified staff globally. StepStone was the only
European-headquartered vendor to be recognised as a ´leader´ by
Gartner, Inc´s "Magic Quadrant for E-Recruitment Software, 2006"
report. For more information see: www.stepstone.com
