The “Big Three” become the “Big Two.” Monster Worldwide today announced that it will pay Yahoo $225 million for HotJobs — the No. 3 Web site in the U.S. (Some say it really ranked even lower.)

    The deal was announced just before a Monster earnings conference call. The announcement is here. We’ll carry extensive reaction, analysis and follow-up during the next few hours and days.

    The cash payment of $225 million includes an extensive three-year agreement for Yahoo to place Monster on its home page as its recruitment channel, with performance-based annual payments for traffic.