TMP Worldwide Executive Resourcing Continues to Expand Global Presence and Services; Broadens Tech Capabilities with Acquisitions of People.com and SPEC Group

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 14, 2000--TMP Worldwide Inc., (NASDAQ:TMPW; ASX:TMP) the leading global provider of career services and solutions, including the pre-eminent Internet career portal, Monster(R).com, and the world's largest Yellow Pages advertising agency, today announced the acquisition of People.com Consulting, Inc, a U.S. and India-based concern providing IT professionals to clients worldwide, and the SPEC Group, which provides a highly skilled technical workforce to the electric power and primary process (metals, petrochemical and pharmaceutical) industries. Both acquisitions will be integrated into TMP's Executive Resourcing (eResourcing) division.

"With our acquisition of People.com, TMP gains instant entry into the dynamic employment market of India - arguably one of the hottest areas worldwide for technology workers," said Andrew Banks, Global CEO of TMP eResourcing. "TMP is also gaining an immediate foray through the SPEC Group into a highly specialized market sector of the technology field. With such extraordinary demand worldwide for IT and other specialized technology workers, these acquisitions truly round out our capabilities and our ability to best serve our clients."

TMP issued approximately 2.1 million shares of common stock for all the outstanding shares of the two companies. The acquisitions of the companies will be accounted for as poolings of interest and will be accretive to TMP Worldwide's financial results for both 2000 and 2001. With total 1999 commissions and fees of $20.6 million on a pro-forma basis, these companies combined with TMP Worldwide would have reported commissions and fees of approximately $909 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 1999, adjusted to include all other poolings of interest transactions closed in 2000.

The demand for qualified, experienced professionals to drive IT services and projects continues to outstrip the supply of talent estimated at 2 million positions in North America alone. India has responded to this demand worldwide, by creating technology and software centers that produce knowledge workers capable of satisfying the most critical needs in emerging technologies and telecommunications. People.com Consulting, Inc. is widely recognized in India as the pre-eminent employer for premier assignments in North America, Asia and the Pacific Rim. With development centers in New Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai, the company is able to source the most talented workers, largely on its reputation for representing quality employers and stable, secure work environments. The individual investment in the screening and selection of each candidate for assignment has resulted in superior rates of growth, profitability and customer satisfaction, as evidenced by compounded revenue of 150% per year for the past four years.

"The decision at People.com to become part of TMP Worldwide was based on their clear commitment to a truly global talent exchange, where assignments and workers are dynamically matched," said Satinder Garcha, CEO and president of People.com Consulting. "Monster.com is already our preferred channel for workers, and our affiliation with its parent, TMP Worldwide, will secure the recruitment process and assignment flow for countless numbers of professionals throughout the Pacific Rim. Our immediate market objective will be to replicate this H-1B model in other countries, sending talent to other countries and assuming work in India. When you consider TMP's client base around the globe, the opportunity is truly exciting."

The second acquired company, SPEC Group, is responsible for deploying over 1,000 professional contractors, at any given time, to hundreds of client locations, delivering solutions to their Core Operations, Information Technology, Instrumentation & Control and Quality Assurance departments. SPEC's impressive list of clients includes two-thirds of the major U.S. electric utilities, five of the world's largest power generation OEMs, over 100 Fortune 500 industrial companies and two government agencies.

"TMP's deep resources and global talent pipeline will enable us to address a wider range of customer needs for growing their employee base in all of the dominant technologies required by the world's largest utilities and power generation firms," said J.P. Sakey, CEO and president of the SPEC Group. "Joining forces with TMP gives us the necessary infrastructure to respond to global, large-scale implementation projects with consistency. TMP will immediately be able to add our niche solutions, industry expertise, proprietary personnel database and blue-chip client base to its successful sourcing and selection model."

"These simultaneous actions will propel TMP's eResourcing to a new level of responsiveness, with access to a pool of workers whose technical expertise runs both wide and deep," further added Andrew Banks. "And as the SPEC Group and People.com gain TMP entry into new industry areas, we can further expand these client relationships by offering to them the full spectrum of TMP's Intern-to-CEO services."

About TMP Worldwide

Founded in 1967, TMP Worldwide Inc., now with more than 8,750 employees in 30 countries, is the on-line recruitment leader, the world's largest Recruitment Advertising agency network, and one of the world's largest Executive Search & Executive Selection agencies. TMP Worldwide, headquartered in New York, is also the world's largest Yellow Pages advertising agency and a provider of direct marketing services. The company's clients include more than 90 of the Fortune 100 and more than 480 of the Fortune 500 companies.

About Monster.com

Monster.com, headquartered in Maynard, Mass., is a leading global careers Web site, recording over 19.3 million visits during the month of October, 2000 according to independent research conducted by I/PRO. Monster.com connects the most progressive companies with the most qualified career-minded individuals, offering innovative technology and superior services that give them more control over the recruiting process. The Monster.com global network consists of local content and language sites in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Spain, and Ireland. More information about Monster.com is available at www.monster.com or by calling 1-800-MONSTER. Monster.com is the flagship brand of the Interactive Division of TMP Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ:"TMPW"; ASX:"TMP").

Special Note: The above statements include forward-looking statements based on current management expectations. Factors that could cause future results to differ from these expectations include the following: risks associated with acquisitions, competition, and seasonality. Additional factors are described in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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