For the not inconsiderable figure of 26.200 billion euros, the Redmond company, Microsoft has just acquired the LinkedIn portal, dedicated to networking between professionals by sectors. The announcement has just been published recently, but for users we will not notice any changes, as Microsoft states that for now it will keep LinkedIn as an independent brand. Its current CEO, Jeff Weiner, will retain his current position and maintain the organization to report directly to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
Previously, LinkedIn had acquired another great website like SlideShare, a portal dedicated to the sharing of online presentations and also closely related to the business field. As we have indicated, at the moment made by Microsoft is purely business. We will see if this trend changes over time.
In a media interview with Nadella, he indicated that the LinkedIn team has built a fantastic business focused on connecting professionals from all over the world, and that together, Microsoft and LinkedIn could accelerate the growth of this platform, as well as that of Microsoft Office 365.
The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the agreement and Microsoft expects to close the acquisition of LinkedIn by the end of the year. Until then there will be no administrative or business changes in the professional portal.
Weiner also had the opportunity to comment on his views on the recent purchase: “Just as we have changed the way the world connects with job opportunities, this relationship with Microsoft and combining its cloud services with our LinkedIn network it will provide us with the opportunity to change the way the world works. "
For Reid Hoffman, president and co-founder of the social network, the purchase of the portal we have attended today constitutes, in his own words, the "re-founding of LinkedIn".