Huge news in the world of social media and Mergers & acquisitions (M&A) – Microsoft has announced to buy LinkedIn for $26.2 billion. LinkedIn is the largest professional networking site in the world with 433 million users, and Microsoft will pay $196 per share in an all-cash transaction.
The software giant a press release states that LinkedIn will maintain its brand name, products, culture, and independence and will be part of Microsoft’s productivity and business processes segment. On the management part, LinkedIn’s present CEO, Jeff Weiner, will report to Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft.
The M&A is the largest takeover by Microsoft in the company’s history after it acquired mobile company Nokia. The transaction is fully supported by Reid Hoffman, co-founder and chairman of the board, and Weiner, and the deal is expected to complete by the end of this year.
“The LinkedIn team has grown a fantastic business centered on connecting the world’s professionals,” Nadella said. “Together we can accelerate the growth of LinkedIn, as well as Microsoft Office 365 and Dynamics as we seek to empower every person and organization on the planet.”
Microsoft was never that great in the social media space – the acquisition will boost both companies – for Microsoft, it will expand its footprint in social media by building more services for enterprises. On the other hand, LinkedIn will compete with other companies building social software.
LinkedIn is the world’s largest and most valuable professional network and continues to build a strong and growing business. Over the past year, the company has launched a new version of its mobile app that has led to increased member engagement; enhanced the LinkedIn newsfeed to deliver better business insights; acquired a leading online learning platform called Lynda.com to enter a new market; and rolled out a new version of its Recruiter product to its enterprise customers.
“Just as we have changed the way the world connects to opportunity, this relationship with Microsoft, and the combination of their cloud and LinkedIn’s network, now gives us a chance to also change the way the world works,” Weiner said. “For the last 13 years, we’ve been uniquely positioned to connect professionals to make them more productive and successful, and I’m looking forward to leading our team through the next chapter of our story.”
Since the news of the acquisition broke out, LinkedIn’s share increased up to 64% from its closing price of $131.08 on Friday. Both the companies will jointly host a conference with the investors on June 13, 2016, at 8:45 a.m. Pacific Time/11:45 a.m. and will be attended by Nadella and Weiner, as well as Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood and Microsoft President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith – the webcast can be seen here – https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Investor.
Here is the presentation of the call, which already lives on the Microsoft News Center.
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