Linkedin is a premier social business network. Since the early 2000s, they’ve led the way for business networking, bringing personal and professional together. Countless jobs have been found. Countless careers have been made because of Linkedin. Now, Microsoft acquires Linkedin.
Microsoft announces it’s acquisition of Linkedin. Microsoft will pay Linkedin $26.2 billion, all in cash. Microsoft insists Linkedin will remain independent and will run as usual. Their CEO, Jeff Weiner, will report directly to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Nadella is confident the merger will help Linkedin, Microsoft Office 365 and Dynamics grow to unbelievable potential. The acquisition should be finalized by the end of 2016. I hope Nadella’s confidence brings results. This is the first major Microsoft acquisition since he became Microsoft CEO in February 2014. Since then, Microsoft wants to be ‘the world’s biggest cloud’ and ‘world’s biggest professional network’. Linkedin stockholders are loving the news. Stocks are up a whopping 47% percent today. Do you realize how rare it is for stocks to increase that much in one day? Over 433 million people use Linkedin worldwide. This merger will impact at least that many people. The deal was approved by a landslide by both sides of the table.
On the surface, this acquisition makes since. Microsoft is a premier company of all computer technology. Linkedin leads the business world in connections. Microsoft dreams of connecting people. So why not buy out Linkedin to do just that? If you’re Linkedin, congratulations! You’re teaming up with one of the best computer tech corporation in the world. This is great for both institutions. But how will this work for the consumer? Satya Nadella insists Microsoft won’t interfere with Linkedin operations. I hope he keeps that promise. It would be a shame to spoil Linkedin’s legacy because Microsoft wants to impose it’s will. I don’t see Nadella going that far. Anyone who follows me knows I’m not a fan of mergers. But this could work. Will it?