Two years ago, DHI Group announced it was exploring strategic alternatives for the company, which is corporate-speak for for-sale. A year after, when it became clear there would be no buyer, the company got busy shedding its job boards no longer deemed core to its mission. Since then, the company has been shedding businesses, as well as replacing its CEO.
Over the past few months, DHI has been busy shedding its portfolio of job sites, including RigLogix, Biospace, and Health eCareers. Dice, eFinancialCareers, and ClearanceJobs will likely remain the organization’s focus going forward, keeping an eye toward tech.
The latest board to be sold off is Hcareers. For approximately $16.5 million in cash, Virgil Holdings is now the new owner of the hospitality job board. The transaction closed on May 23, 2018 and DHI will use the proceeds in accordance with its stated capital allocation strategy, including the reduction of the balance on its revolving credit facility, support of strategic initiatives, and potential return of capital to shareholders.
The buyer, Virgil Holdings Inc. owns and operates Virgil Careers, which it touts as “a career navigation and recruiting platform that utilizes proprietary machine learning algorithms and micro-assessments to match job seekers to the perfect career path, employment opportunity and developmental resources.” In addition to the usual job board features, Virgil serves higher education, trade associations, workforce agencies and nonprofits, which should make Hcareers a good fit.
“Virgil Holdings, Inc. is a great new home for Hcareers, which will no doubt benefit from being part of a company closely aligned with the hospitality industry that is transforming how candidates and employers come together,” said Art Zeile, president and CEO of DHI Group, Inc. “We are pleased with the outcome of this transaction, as it helps us concentrate on our core strategy of bringing relevant career opportunities to tech professionals and qualified technology talent to employers.”
Dice added Hcareers to its roster back in November 2013 as part of its $50 million onTargetjobs acquisition, which included three job boards: HEALTHeCareers, Hcareers, and BioSpace.
Readers know the hospitality space is going through immense change, as workers increasingly want gigs as opposed to jobs. Players like Shiftgig, Task Rabbit, and the newly rebranded Snag are taking advantage of this shift. Time will tell how Virgil, which focuses on career assessment, plans to evolve Hcareers in light of this new reality.