Microsoft announced Monday that it will pay $26.2 billion to acquire professional networking service LinkedIn, in a deal expected to go through by the end of the year.
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Microsoft is to buy LinkedIn Corp for $26.2bn in cash, a premium of just under 50 percent to its Friday closing share price.
Weiner and Reid Hoffman the chairman, co-founder and controlling shareholder of LinkedIn both backed the deal. The companies said the transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both LinkedIn and Microsoft. “I see incredible opportunity for our members and customers and look forward to supporting this new and combined business”, said Hoffman in a statement.
It is by far the biggest acquisition made by Microsoft, which has completed eight takeovers worth more than $1 trillion.
Microsoft has bought professional networking website LinkedIn for more than $26bn (£18bn), one of the biggest technology deals of all time. Basically, the LinkedIn is a professional social site for everyone who wants the beneficial and quality company’s job to upload own resume on it and many company’s profiles, many job profile, and professional company leaders are add on it.
According to the company, the partnership with Lynda, and the mobile and web updates, have increased LinkedIn’s membership by 19 percent, to more than 433 million members over the past year.
The Chief Executive said that with the acquisition the software of Microsoft and the professional networks of LinkedIn would be woven together into a smooth working component. “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”.
The transaction is expected to close this year.
Microsoft will finance the transaction primarily through the issuance of new loan.
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Nadella told employees, in a blog post, that LinkedIn “will retain its distinct brand and independence, as well as their culture which is very much aligned with ours”. Therefore, although the benefits of integration are numerous, it remains to be seen how closely entwined the two companies will actually become.
