TMP Belittles Yahoo’s Bid for HotJobs.com

TMP Worldwide Inc., which has agreed to buy rival job-listings Web site HotJobs.com Ltd. for $348 million in stock, said HotJobs shareholders should be “concerned about the value” of a competing bid from Yahoo Inc.

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo, owner of the most-used Internet search service, had offered $436million in cash and stock for New York-based HotJobs.com.

TMP, owner of the Monster.com Web site, said in a letter to HotJobs Chief Executive Dimitri Boylan that Yahoo’s offer of $10.50 a share, in equal parts cash and stock, would be worth less than $10.50 after taxes.

Shares of New York-based TMP fell 81 cents to $40.96. HotJobs rose 20 cents to $10.50, and Yahoo fell 37 cents to $17.21. All trade on Nasdaq.