Leading German professional network XING announces acquisition of Honeypot.io

XING SE, operator of the leading professional network in German-speaking countries, has announced the acquisition of Honeypot GmbH, an innovative job platform for IT experts based in Berlin. 

Honeypot turns the usual job-hunting principle on its head: Companies compete with employees - not the other way around. The base purchase price is €22 million, and if ambitious operational goals are achieved within the next three years, it will increase earn-out payments of up to €35 million. This is the biggest takeover of XING's history, and another milestone in the company's vision of making the future of the workplace a better, more humane one - with products that help people find a job in their lives fits.

Thomas Vollmoeller, CEO of XING, commented. "With the takeover, our product range will grow to include another true New Work provider. Honeypot focuses on the candidates and allows them to find the job that suits their individual preferences." 

The acquisition of Honeypot marks another milestone in corporate strategy implementation: XING plans to pave the way for further growth SE to rename itself "New Work SE" in the second half of the year. With subsidiaries and brands such as kununu or HalloFreelancer, XING has long been more than a mere network; Vollmoeller adds, "New Work is the parenthesis to all our corporate activities."

Honeypot reverses the classic principle of the job marketplace

The digitization, the shortage of skilled labor, and the resulting change in the world of work are already being felt particularly in the tech sector today and will intensify in the coming years. In 2018, Germany had 82,000 vacancies in the IT sector. The balance of power between applicants and employers is changing, companies have to compete for the best brains if they want to compete.

Honeypot simplifies the finding of specialists and companies in the tech industry and reverses the classic principle of the job marketplace: companies compete with specialists according to predetermined rules in order to make the process efficient and transparent. For example, companies have to provide information such as expected salary and content requirements such as programming languages ​​directly when making contact and thus meet certain quality standards. Developers undergo a quick technical check before unlocking the profiles and can specify their preferences for programming languages, salary expectations, and work location. This allows for ideal matching conditions.

"XING and Honeypot share a vision to help people develop and grow their careers. With Honeypot, we want to create the world's largest work-life community around the work lives of IT learners - here, we want to give candidates full decision-making power when it comes to the next steps in their careers. Together with XING we will carry on this thought and vision. With XING as a partner, we can bring together the approximately 100,000 IT specialists registered on Honeypot worldwide with all attractive employers in German-speaking countries. This will allow Honeypot to further develop its domestic market while expanding its international community," said Kaya Taner, Honeypot CEO.

The acquisition also gives XING the opportunity to strengthen its international presence outside the DA-CH region. Honeypot is already the leading tech-focused job marketplace in the German-speaking countries and the Netherlands. Talents from around the world meet here with companies based in Germany and the Netherlands. At present, about 1,000 new skilled workers are registered on the platform every week. All in all, the approximately 50-strong Honeypot team counts around 100,000 registered talents and over 1,500 companies. Honeypot plans to rapidly expand its DA-CH business and develop further international markets. XING will support this expansion plan with significant investments. 

Alingair Bruce, XING-CSO, adds: "XING E-Recruiting has a strong network of around 20,000 corporate customers, and Honeypot has access to IT professionals around the world who are already in great demand today. Together, we can help companies better find the right talent - and help everyone do what they really want to do in their job." 

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