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USA: Microsoft has agreed to buy the largest professional networking site LinkedIn in $26.2 billion all-cash deal.
Microsoft will acquire LinkedIn for $196 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $26.2 billion, inclusive of LinkedIn’s net cash.
LinkedIn will retain its brand, culture and independence and Jeff Weiner will remain chief executive. Weiner will report to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
The deal is expected to close this year. LinkedIn’s financials will be reported as part of Microsoft’s Productivity and Business Processes segment once the deal closes.
“The LinkedIn team has grown a fantastic business centered on connecting the world’s professionals,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
“This deal is the next step forward for Office 365 and Dynamics as they connect to the world’s largest and most valuable professional network. In essence, we can reinvent ways to make professionals more productive while at the same time reinventing selling, marketing and talent management business processes.
In an internal memo to employees, Nadella explained:
We are in pursuit of a common mission centered on empowering people and organizations. Along with the new growth in our Office 365 commercial and Dynamics businesses this deal is key to our bold ambition to reinvent productivity and business processes. Think about it: How people find jobs, build skills, sell, market and get work done and ultimately find success requires a connected professional world. It requires a vibrant network that brings together a professional’s information in LinkedIn’s public network with the information in Office 365 and Dynamics. This combination will make it possible for new experiences such as a LinkedIn newsfeed that serves up articles based on the project you are working on and Office suggesting an expert to connect with via LinkedIn to help with a task you’re trying to complete. As these experiences get more intelligent and delightful, the LinkedIn and Office 365 engagement will grow. And in turn, new opportunities will be created for monetization through individual and organization subscriptions and targeted advertising.
“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,” said LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner.