Microsoft to acquire LinkedIn for $26.2 billion

That's a lot of money!

Source: Microsoft (via The Verge)

Microsoft is announcing today that it plans to acquire LinkedIn for $26.2 billion. Microsoft’s deal to acquire the work-focused social networking giant is an all-cash transaction, and it will value LinkedIn’s shares at $196 each. Microsoft says LinkedIn will retain its own brand, and independence, and existing CEO Jeff Weiner will remain and report directly to Satya Nadella.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-89PWn0QaaY

That's a lot of money!

for a site dedicated to pestering people yes

I'm sure they must have their reasons but I'm struggling to see them...

That said, buying Skype and Minecraft were headscratchers at first and they've been making those work quite well for them.

I know, they've done a great job with Nokia

I also am struggling to see why it's worth the price tag they've paid!?

I know, they've done a great job with Nokia

 

I also am struggling to see why it's worth the price tag they've paid!?

That made me laugh there fair play, people seem to forget that for every Skype and Minecraft, theres a Nokia

I know, they've done a great job with Nokia

 

I also am struggling to see why it's worth the price tag they've paid!?

tax writeoff?

I suppose in the context of Nokia, it wasn't just technologies or the brand, but also the likes of patents which can of course be very lucrative. All the major tech companies globally use patents to extract cash out of each other.

In terms of LinkedIn... I'm not entirely sure what it is that Microsoft values at $26 Billion. They can give it to me if they need to 'spend some cash for tax purposes'.

It appears as if they're thinking about it from the Office 365 POV, plus CRM somehow. Plus, LinkedIn owns Lynda.com.

Not sure its worth what they're paying though!

Yammer and Skype for Business/Lync/whatever its called now, integration into LinkedIn anyone?

YammedIn for Skypeness

$26,000,000,000,000 - I bet whoever is the majority share holder is having a good day. I'd be selling right now... give it 12 months and Microsoft will probably lose faith in it and close it.

Satya Nadella, if you're on Edugeek, please tell us why you think its worth this much!

Extend, embrace, extinguish. Office365 will have LinkedIn integrated but with a different name.

Yes. Hopefully they'll resurrect Clippy to suggest LinkedIn partners that might be useful to your project as you type your report. Sounds brilliant.*

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/17/opinion/why-linkedin-will-make-you-hate-microsoft-word.html

*No, not really.

No Clippy in the new redesign.