Tech Report

By: Nick Gambino

Microsoft has just announced its plan to buy LinkedIn for a whopping $26.2 billion. Yes, that’s billion with a “B”.

This all cash buy-out of the work-centric social media platform comes as quite a shock to those of us who didn’t realize LinkedIn could possibly be valued in the tens of billions of dollars. Sure LinkedIn seems to be a robust networking site for professionals and from all signs is here to stay but $26.2 billion? I don’t know about all that.

But this is only because I personally don’t use LinkedIn very often (read: at all) so my user-based experience or lack of it is informing my bias opinion on the matter.

From a purely statistical analysis, LinkedIn brought in almost $3 billion in revenue in 2015 and the most recent quarter cleared about $99 million in profits. So throw out my worthless opinion, this company is worth a hefty sum.

Beyond those not-too-shabby numbers, Microsoft obviously has a good reason to buy the company for what will place LinkedIn’s stock at $196 a share.

That reason becomes clear when you look at Microsoft’s recent strategic moves to cater specifically to business customers. And with a networking platform that boasts more than 100 million active professional users a month, this only cements their plan.

CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, counts this as his first major acquisition since filling the position over two years ago.

“The LinkedIn team has grown a fantastic business centered on connecting the world’s professionals,” Nadella explained. “Together we can accelerate the growth of LinkedIn, as well as Microsoft Office 365 and Dynamics as we seek to empower every person and organization on the planet.”

Nadella’s intention is to leave the LinkedIn brand intact and let the social media giant retain its independence. That includes leaving Jeff Weiner as CEO, though he’ll now report directly to Nadella.

https://youtu.be/-89PWn0QaaY

Both CEOs seem pretty excited about the possibilities of this union. I for one am all about the integration of platforms and technologies and the potential ease that might result.

Do you think the $26.2 billion acquisition of LinkedIn by Microsoft is a good idea? Sound off in the comments below.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nick Gambino is a regular script writer and tech beat reporter for NewsWatch. He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and daughter.

To learn more about NewsWatch on the Discovery Channel, check us out on LinkedIn!