Today Microsoft and LinkedIn announced that Microsoft will be acquiring LinkedIn for $26.2 billion. LinkedIn shares jumped 47% following the news, while Microsoft shares slipped slightly by 3.2%. This deal comes on the heels of a weak performance by LinkedIn in the first part of the year, from which the social media platform was already starting to recover.
I am no business acquisition expert, but I do see that Microsoft might benefit from a wide social networking platform. LinkedIn’s millions of members will give Microsoft a huge audience into which they can tap for their cloud business. For LinkedIn, the acquisition seems to be a boon. LinkedIn’s CEO and other employees will stay in place and the company will retain their autonomy, at least for now.
I’d like to open up a discussion here. What do you think about this deal? What are the pros and cons for Microsoft? For LinkedIn? What do you think this new structure will mean for you as a LinkedIn user? What are your fears about having Microsoft as LinkedIn’s new owner? What might the future look like with Microsoft behind the curtain?
Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comment area below!