StepStone Expands Operations into China

StepStone (OSE:STP), the leading global provider of total talent management solutions, today announced the expansion of its operations in China through a binding agreement to acquire LEVEL4 Performance Consulting Limited, a Hong Kong company and its subsidiary in mainland China (together “LEVEL4”).

The acquisition will enable StepStone to accelerate its penetration of the rapidly expanding Chinese talent management market. Existing StepStone customers in China include Ford, Intertek, KPMG and SGS.

LEVEL4 focuses on talent management consultancy services and the sale and implementation of talent solutions. It has offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

StepStone will acquire a majority interest with an option to acquire the minority in 2011. LEVEL4 will be renamed StepStone China. Roy Fung, the current majority shareholder, will remain with the business and take on the role of President, StepStone Greater China.

Roy Fung said “We are very proud to become part of StepStone. The Chinese economy is growing very quickly and employment is rapidly expanding. Finding, developing and retaining talent is a major challenge. We believe that our experience in the Chinese market and StepStone’s market leading Talent Management products is a winning combination. The opportunities are enormous and we anticipate a successful future for StepStone China.”

“Recent Economist Intelligence Unit research from StepStone indicates that recruitment is becoming tougher globally but Asia is the market where recruitment and retention difficulties are acute, increasing the need for organizations to adopt a robust recruitment and talent management strategy. I am very pleased to welcome Roy and his team to StepStone. They become part of an expanding Asia Pacific operation that will accelerate the delivery of StepStone products and services to this important market,” StepStone CEO, Colin Tenwick, said.

The StepStone Total Talent Report, which covers global recruitment and talent management trends, was published in January 2008 and is available from http://stepstone.com/EN/TotalTalent/Report/2008/

About StepStone

StepStone was founded in Norway in 1996 and pioneered the development of online recruitment. Today, StepStone is a leading global provider of Total Talent Solutions, ranging from careers websites to on-demand software for e-recruitment and talent management. StepStone’s portfolio of Total Talent Solutions ranges from recruitment through on-boarding, training, career and succession planning, performance management and more. In addition, StepStone is Europe’s number two operator of careers websites (based on ComScore data). Covering 13 European countries, its portfolio of online properties allows recruiters to source candidates quickly and effectively through individually focused campaigns.

Thousands of organisations, including Aviva, Amey, Royal Bank of Scotland, AXA, British Airways, Xerox and Fiat use StepStone’s products and services to help them recruit qualified staff globally. StepStone was the only European-headquartered vendor to be recognised as a ‘leader’ by Gartner, Inc’s “Magic Quadrant for E-Recruitment Software, 2006” report and was recently awarded the highest rating for Employee Performance Software by Bersin and Associates.

For more information see: www.stepstone.com

Contacts

StepStone
Ian Clapp, Director of Investor Relations
Tel: + 44 7850 128094
or
Ian Cole, CFO
Tel: +44 7808 946404