By Stuart Condie

SYDNEY--Australian job advertiser Seek will write down the value of its stake in employment platform Zhaopin by almost US$250 million, making its second writedown in 18 months amid what it called China's weak macroeconomic conditions.

ASX-listed Seek on Monday said that it would record a post-tax impairment of 356 million Australian dollars, or US$249.7 million, when it announces its half-year results next week.

Seek said that the decision to make the impairment, which will cut the value of its stake to A$182 million from A$529 million at June 30, followed a strategic review by Zhaopin management.

"Zhaopin continues to be impacted by weak macroeconomic conditions in China and competitive pressures," Seek said.

Zhaopin's management was preparing to shift the business toward new growth areas seen as aligned with the Chinese government's economic priorities, Seek said. The move will not require any capital injection from Seek, it added.

In 2021, Seek cut its stake in Zhaopin from 61.1% to 23.5%, receiving an initial A$500 million in a deal that it said could eventually be worth A$697 million.

However, it impaired the value of its remaining stake by A$141 million when it announced full-year results in August 2024, citing a challenging white-collar hiring market.

On Monday, it said that its stake could rise back up to 30% because some of the conditions of the 2021 transaction had not been met. Seek said that it would not pay any cash, but that the reversion of the equity holding would extinguish the receivable due to it.

Write to Stuart Condie at stuart.condie@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 08, 2026 17:24 ET (22:24 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.