Monster Deal Talk Showing 80% Premium With $15 a Share: Real M&A

Monster Worldwide Inc., the online recruiting service that has lost almost 90 percent of its value, is poised to extract a record takeover premium for investors.

Chief Executive Officer Salvatore Iannuzzi said last week he is weighing options to boost the company’s shares after Monster traded as low as 0.67 times the value of its net assets. Even after the hiring of bankers helped spur a 20 percent gain in its stock price, the $1 billion company was still cheaper yesterday relative to its earnings and book value than at least 96 percent of U.S. Internet software and services firms greater than $500 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.