04/01/2019 | XING

XING acquires Honeypot, the leading IT job platform in German-speaking countries

  • Largest acquisition in the company’s history
  • Honeypot turns the conventional job board principle on its head
  • XING CEO Thomas Vollmoeller: “Excellent addition to our New Work Portfolio”

Hamburg, 1st April 2019 – XING SE, operator of the leading online business network in German-speaking countries, has acquired Honeypot GmbH, an innovative IT job platform based in Berlin, with immediate effect. Honeypot turns the conventional job board principle on its head as companies apply to potential employees, not the other way around. The basic acquisition price is €22 million, with earn-outs of up to €35 million to be paid in addition if ambitious operating targets are reached within the next three years. This represents XING’s largest-ever acquisition and an additional milestone in the journey towards the company’s vision – for a better working life – by serving products that help people find the right job to suit their needs and preferences. Honeypot turns the conventional job board principle on its head Digitalisation, a shortage of skilled workers in Germany, and the resulting changes on the labour market are already clearly tangible in the tech industry, and this trend is set to continue in the same vein over the coming years. In 2018 there were 82,000 unfilled IT vacancies in Germany (source: alertify ). This is bringing about a shift in power between employers and job applicants, with companies now having to battle for top talent to stay ahead of the competition. Honeypot brings IT specialists and tech companies together by turning the conventional job board principle on its head, with companies following a specific set of rules to streamline the process of applying to potential employees. This means that companies are required to supply certain details, such as the salary on offer and the programming languages required, when contacting candidates in order to ensure compliance with the quality standards put in place. Before their profile is activated, developers are subject to a brief expertise check and can enter their preferences in terms of programming languages, salary, and location to ensure best-possible matching. XING’s acquisition of Honeypot enables XING SE to further reinforce its international presence. Honeypot is currently Europe’s tech-focussed job platform that brings global talent together with companies in German-speaking countries and the Netherlands. The platform currently enjoys a growth rate of around 1,000 new IT specialists every week. About 50 people work at Honeypot, which supports some 100,000 IT specialists and over 1,500 businesses. The job platform is now planning to rapidly grow its business activities in German-speaking countries, and is looking to expand to other international markets. XING, in turn, is planning to invest significantly in these expansion plans. XING CEO Thomas Vollmoeller: “Excellent addition to our New Work Portfolio” Thomas Vollmoeller, CEO at XING, said: “This acquisition is an excellent addition to our New Work portfolio. Honeypot focuses on candidates by helping them to find a job matching their individual preferences.” The Honeypot acquisition also represents an additional milestone in terms of executing the company’s strategy as XING SE intends to rename itself New Work SE during the second half of 2019 to pave the way for further growth. “With subsidiaries and brands such as kununu and HalloFreelancer, XING is far more than just a single network.” said Thomas Vollmoeller, who added that “New Work is the umbrella spanning all our business activities.” “XING and Honeypot both have the vision of helping people to further their career. We are building the world’s largest work-life community for tech people – in this context, we want to give candidates the full power to decide on their next career step. We will continue to pursue this vision with XING. Going forward, over 100,000 IT specialists from all over the world who are already registered on Honeypot will be able to connect with diverse employers from across German-speaking countries. We look forward to expanding our presence across Europe and further afield.” said Kaya Taner, CEO at Honeypot. Alastair Bruce, CSO at XING, said: “XING E-Recruiting has a strong network of around 20,000 corporate clients, while Honeypot has access to IT specialists all over the world who are already in high demand. Together we will help businesses find the right talent and support people in enabling them to do the job they always wanted to do.” About XING  The leading online business network in German-speaking countries accompanies its members through the sweeping changes taking place in the world of work. Against the backdrop of skills shortages, digitalisation and a shift in values, XING supports more than 15 million members in reconciling work and private life as seamlessly as possible. Members can use XING Jobs to look for vacancies to suit their individual needs, stay up to date with news on XING, join discussions, and find out about the changes and trends in the new world of work on nwx.xing.com. At the beginning of 2013, XING strengthened its position as a market leader in social recruiting by acquiring kununu, the market-leading platform for employer ratings in German-speaking countries. XING was established in 2003 and has been listed on the stock exchange since 2006. It has been listed in the TecDAX since September 2011. XING members interact in around 90,000 groups or network in person at one of over 130,000 professional events each year. XING has offices in Hamburg, Munich, Berlin, Barcelona, Valencia, Porto, Vienna, and Zurich. Visit www.xing.com for further Details.  About Honeypot Launched in 2015 by Kaya Taner and Emma Tracey, Honeypot is home to almost 100,000 IT specialists, with 1,000 new registrations every week, and over 1,500 corporate clients, including Zeiss, Engel & Völkers, Zalando and ProSiebenSat1. Germany’s largest tech-focussed job platform turns the conventional recruiting process on its head by enabling companies to apply to IT specialists. Honeypot focuses on the needs of IT specialists by offering them CV advice and showing them typical salaries in their industry. Companies looking to apply to IT specialists on Honeypot are required to provide details such as salary, location, programming languages and technology in use. Honeypot is more than just a job board as the founders‘ vision is to create the world’s largest work-life community for IT specialists.


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