Classified Ad Ventures Acquires Hippo

Simon Baker, the CEO of Classified Ad Ventures, has acquired the youth job board Hippo. Hippo appointed an administrator on March 24th.

This is a great result for James Masini, General Manager and founder of Hippo Jobs, as it gives him an economic lifeline and allows him a continued involvement in the company.

Simon has a good track record as a leader at the helm of a fledgling classified businesses. He resuscitated a drowning realestate.com.au in 2001 when they were down to their last few dollars. There, Simon grew revenues from $4m to $155m in FY 2008.

Simon Baker said, “We believe that niche jobs sites are a growing opportunity. Managers have less time than ever to troll through the hundreds of irrelevant CVs they often receive from the general jobs sites. Our investment in ArtsHub shows that by having a targeted audience, we are able to deliver a small number of quality candidates that meet the advertisers’ requirements.”

“Hippo has successfully matched the youth of Australia with employers of choice for the past 2 years. As part of the Classified Ad Ventures, advertisers and candidates using Hippo Jobs will benefit from a combined 40 years of online classified experience and receive better results.”

Hippo Jobs will report to Chris Vulovic, the head of Classified Ad Ventures’ Innovation team.