The venture arm of ASX-listed jobs site Seek will sell its stake in HR software platform Employment Hero.
The sale ends their long-standing investor-partner relationship months after the companies resolved a Federal Court dispute over platform access.
The divestment was announced as part of Seek’s (ASX: SEK) half-yearly results on Tuesday morning.
Both companies described the move as a natural stage in the investment lifecycle rather than a breakdown in relations.
Seek has backed Employment Hero since 2017 and participated in multiple funding rounds.
The has now surpassed $300 million in annual recurring revenue and supports more than 350,000 businesses globally across markets including Australia, Canada and the UK.
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Seek sold a $95 million portion of its Employment Hero stake to KKR last year. The HR giant said at the time that it retained a “meaningful” holding, which it has now put up for sale.
Employment Hero has been a key part of the Seek Investments portfolio. Combined with Go1, Hibob and OES, it represents 80% of the portfolio valuation. It has been a key driver of valuation increases alongside Hibob.
The Seek portfolio’s value (including distributions) rose 1% in H1 26 to $2,296.3m (FY25: $2,268.7m) Distributions of $206.4m, predominantly via the Employment Hero and Sidekicker transactions, represent 12% of invested capital.
A standout investment
Employment Hero co-founder and CEO Ben Thompson said the company was entering its “next chapter from a position of strength”.
“We are proud to have delivered exceptional returns for Seek Investments over the past eight years and value their partnership and support,” Thompson said.
He went on to say that the business is supported by “sustained international demand, as we continue disciplined global expansion and build the AI infrastructure that powers employment.
“As we move forward, our focus remains clear: scaling globally, creating long-term shareholder value, and advancing our mission to make employment more valuable and easier for everyone.”
Seek Investments executive chairman and CEO Andrew Bassat said the company remained confident in the business despite beginning an exit process.
“Employment Hero has been a standout investment for the Seek Growth Fund. We remain confident in Employment Hero’s strategy and long-term outlook; however, now is the appropriate time for the Fund to commence a sale process,” Bassat said.
An investor presentation released alongside Seek’s half-year results states the fund “has commenced a process to divest its stake in Employment Hero”.
The move follows a legal dispute last year after Seek issued notice it intended to terminate Employment Hero’s access to its job posting API, which allows businesses to publish ads directly from the platform. Employment Hero launched Federal Court proceedings alleging anti-competitive conduct, while Seek denied the claims.
The matter was discontinued by consent in January after Employment Hero accepted that Seek’s decision to terminate API access was not made for an anti-competitive purpose. The integration was subsequently reinstated subject to compliance with Seek’s terms.
Seek had also raised concerns with customers at the time regarding Employment Hero’s alleged data use and compliance with API conditions, allegations the startup denied during proceedings.
Seek was contacted for additional comment, while Employment Hero declined to comment further.
- Additional reporting by Simon Thomsen
This story first appeared on SmartCompany. You can read the original here.
