Odds Increasing of Monster Buyout, Maybe (MWW)

Monster Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: MWW) may be “back for sale” in the minds of investors and speculators.  The company is currently under a strategic review to maximize shareholder value, but there has been a debate as to whether or not this implies a sale of the company outright is coming or whether it is a spin-off of an asset or a divestiture.

An interview with the CEO on Reuters signals that the company is open to selling all or part of the company.  More importantly it was noted that it is expected to have data ready for potential buyers fairly soon. Reuters quoted the CEO as saying, “At a certain price, anything’s for sale.”  FULL REUTERS REPORT

Monster shares are not exactly screaming higher because many investors believe private equity may not be interested and because social media is hurting job search websites just like websites of this sort killed the “Classifieds” business of the newspapers.

The stock is only up 1.5% at $9.44 and the 52-week range is $6.34 to $18.47.  Unfortunately this stock trades at about 35-times expected 2012 earnings estimates, sales are expected to decline, and investors are not certain at all as to whether the company can hit its earnings estimates.  The company’s market value is $1.1 billion, which was also its total shareholder equity value at the end of 2011.  Unfortunately, its net tangible assets after backing out liabilities was in the red by almost $20 million.

As far as what analysts think this is worth on a per share basis, Thomson Reuters lists the consensus target price from analysts as $11.38 on this stock.

JON C. OGG