Microsoft Acquires LinkedIn for $26.2 Billion

By: Daniel Steingold | June 13, 2016

In what is said to be Microsoft’s largest acquisition ever, the tech giant has announced its purchase of LinkedIn on Monday, the popular social network for job seekers.

The acquisition, paid for entirely in cash, is for $26.2 billion. This valuation places each share of LinkedIn stock at $196, a 47 percent jump from where they stood before the acquisition.

LinkedIn will maintain much of its autonomy, and its current CEO Jeff Weiner will remain in his current post. All board members for both firms approved of the acquisition, and Microsoft hopes the finishing touches are completed by the end of the year.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella hopes that LinkedIn will seamlessly integrate into Microsoft’s existing products and services, providing enhanced functionality. It is the corporation’s first major acquisition under Nadella, who became the CEO of Microsoft about two years ago.

It is believed that with LinkedIn’s 433 million users, Microsoft will be able to tout itself as possessing both the “world’s leading professional cloud” and the “world’s leading professional network.”

In addition to acquiring LinkedIn itself, Microsoft will gain the ownership rights to Lynda.com, a skill training video site. LinkedIn had purchased Lynda.com for $1.5 billion last year.

While it is not perfectly clear what Microsoft will do with their new acquisition, Nadella hinted that it will integrate with Cortana, Microsoft’s personal assistant software.

All eyes will be on Microsoft after the announcement of this acquisition, as previous acquisitions in recent years, such as Nokia, have been viewed to have been failures.


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