Of late Microsoft was lagging behind by shifts in technology, this deal is viewed as the latest effort by Chief Executive Satya Nadella to revitalise the company.
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LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner, who will remain in his position and report to Nadella, wrote in a blog post that the deal would enable the company to join the ranks of the nation’s tech titans.
Nadella said: “The LinkedIn team has grown a fantastic business centred on connecting the world’s professionals”.
What: LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD) stock opened up Monday morning. But Microsoft shares fell almost 3 per cent. For now, we don’t more.
LinkedIn is the largest and most valuable professional networking site in the world.
Martin Moran, EMEA SVP and GM at InsideSales.com, said Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn is a big data buy.
LinkedIn’s shares experienced a reversal of fortune following the announcement of the deal, jumping up 47 per cent to $192.60 a share.
While Microsoft is paying a premium for LinkedIn, the software giant should gain from the acquisition, says Mizuho Securities analyst Neil Doshi. Weiner will decide “what makes sense to integrate and what does not….” “His [Nadella’s] vision was to operate LinkedIn as a fully independent entity within Microsoft, a model used with great success by companies like YouTube, Instagram and WhatsApp”, he told staff. “This is a good way for Microsoft to expand into social platforms”.
LinkedIn will not change much to the consumer’s eye, at least not at first. So, hope this purchase of LinkedIn social network gives a significant foothold to Microsoft.
Microsoft Dynamics offers businesses an integrated productivity solution.
It remains to be seen what will happen for both LinkedIn and Microsoft. In a video on Microsoft’s site, the two discuss how they might collaborate.
In a presentation to investors released on Monday morning, Microsoft noted a shared goal of “empowering people and organizations” and touted LinkedIn’s growing user base, engagement and revenue.
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The social network was founded in 2002, two years before the world’s most popular social network, Facebook, came online.
