Microsoft To Acquire LinkedIn

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Microsoft Corp. and LinkedIn Corporation on Monday announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Microsoft will acquire LinkedIn for $196 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $26.2 billion, inclusive of LinkedIn’s net cash. LinkedIn will retain its distinct brand, culture and independence. Jeff Weiner will remain CEO of LinkedIn, reporting to Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. Reid Hoffman, chairman of the board, co-founder and controlling shareholder of LinkedIn, and Weiner both fully support this transaction. The transaction is expected to close this calendar year.

LinkedIn is the world’s largest and most valuable professional network and continues to build a strong and growing business. Over the past year, the company has launched a new version of its mobile app that has led to increased member engagement; enhanced the LinkedIn newsfeed to deliver better business insights; acquired a leading online learning platform called Lynda.com to enter a new market; and rolled out a new version of its Recruiter product to its enterprise customers.
 
LinkedIn, like FB, has been ruined by people. Lots of spam, and lots of people posting stuff with nothing to do with work or the like, personal and "motivation" BS. On the usefulness scale I have found it has really gone down hill, using it to find a job is just asking to be spammed to death.
 
mls1995 said:
I know, right? Scary stuff.
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It is more like I expect MS to spam me and give my info out. No thanks.
And actually Back when I first signed up with LInkedIn probably 10 years ago; I was thinking it was a way to hedge my bet in case a better job offer came along.
And I've been contacted a few time about that but it was always crap that didn't pay anything. So, it is pretty useless for me.
 
I would think Microsoft can only do better than LinkedIn. Has Microsoft given full account details and passwords of 160 million people to hackers?
 
Dr. Righteous said:
It is more like I expect MS to spam me and give my info out. No thanks.
And actually Back when I first signed up with LInkedIn probably 10 years ago; I was thinking it was a way to hedge my bet in case a better job offer came along.
And I've been contacted a few time about that but it was always crap that didn't pay anything. So, it is pretty useless for me.
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I got my current job through LinkedIn from a random headhunter. Same job, better salary. Doubt they would have found me otherwise. It's not all bad.
 
NeoNemesis said:
I got my current job through LinkedIn from a random headhunter. Same job, better salary. Doubt they would have found me otherwise. It's not all bad.
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Yeah, and that is a great thing; and that is what I intended. But it amazes me how people will expect you to take one work at half the going rate.
A few years back a guy offer me a job and he really played up all the benefits of it. It did sound interesting. Self management, easy to meet work load. Some travel but no time crunches. That is until we got to salary. It worked out to about $10/hr. I was actually insulted. I told him "YOU have to be kidding! I was making more than that 20 years ago!!"
 
nightfly said:
I've found linkedin to be handy staying in touch with business contacts. Should be interesting how Microsoft ruins this one.
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I'm not the networking/socializing at work type. I don't keep in touch with colleagues, and I never socialize at work. Not there to make friends, only to pay the bills.

I maintain a linked in profile for looking for jobs when I need them. I use it once every few years when I decide I want a new job, and then forget about it until the next time.

This is clearly just a user data grab on Microsofts part. It really is time we had strict regulation on how user data can be handled by companies.

Dr. Righteous said:
Well, time to delete my LinkedIn profile.
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Too late for that, by now they probably have all the data dumps they ever wanted :p
 
26 billion dollars.

It's good to have the online CV and recruiters can see it (not much as far as REAL employers!).

But, 26 billion?! LinkedIn, welcome to Nokia. Sorry to see you go so soon.
 
This is a horrible investment. I hate LinkedIn. Deleted my account because of all the spam I was getting and all the random people trying to add me as a friend. At first I thought it was a good idea a long time ago until I realized, I don't actually use this crap.
 
Well, I think that MS will want to make changes and make it more like their version of FB with a slight slant towards work related stuffs. I don't think it is simply a user data buy, as they could do that a lot cheaper. I have an account but I never use it, so I would imagine that soon it will have more FB type features....
 
They'll retain their brand, culture, and independence. For how long until Microsoft does some "strategic restructuring" - 1 year? 3 years? 5 years?

Hopefully current LinkedIn employees have built up a vast network of contacts and will be able to land a good job after they pass through that guillotine.
 
Lets be serious here. As much as I like LinkedIn, it's not as if they've been doing an amazing job these past few years.

My live feed looks like something straight out of Facebook.
 
LinkedIn is the only social network I use and find value in. I guess if you only use it to browse your news feed you could find it useless, 95% of the articles are trash. I use it to maintain connections with my professional contacts as they move throughout the industry, leading to both new business and job opportunities. Also use it to recruit new talent. Extremely valuable.

As for MS ruining it, they don't seem to be the same old bumbling colossus since Nadella took over. I have hope.
 
NeoNemesis said:
Lets be serious here. As much as I like LinkedIn, it's not as if they've been doing an amazing job these past few years.

My live feed looks like something straight out of Facebook.
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Was just talking to my boss about this same point. So often it is filled it stuff about peoples kids or vacation. I don't care, tell me what your company is doing for their upcoming product launch.
 
Exactly. Looking at my feed right now

Post 1: I took my kid to work
Post 2: Video about a little girl giving money to a street musician
Post 3: Job Listing
Post 4: Dalai Lama quote
Post 5: Lockheed Martin / Raytheon news
Post 6: Tradeshow for a company I'm following
Post 7: Islamic Terrorism
Post 8: Info on a company I'm following
Post 9: Headhunter
Post 10: Motivational crap

So 5 of the top 10 most recent articles on my news feed are fluff.
 
This is what happens when companies have $100 Billion in liquid funds laying about. "Hey should we make a social network?" "No lets buy one for waaaay too much money!" High fives all around. Now they only have $70 Billion in liquid assets.
 
Well linked in has been nothing to me all these years I expect nothing will change.
The crap that people post on there is so stupid and phoney.

"Six ways to nail software as a service" blah blah blah. sickening.
 
They made a whopping -$166 million in 2015 on $3 billion in revenue.

In what world could a company that is losing this much money be worth $26 billion?
 
Glad I've never made a LinkedIn account. Now I'll never touch the place.
 
I find LinkedIn useful for keeping track of job recruiters and colleagues. I don't use the site except for that.
Seems like an odd purchase for Microsoft. I'm trying to figure out why they wanted it? Where does it fit into their portfolio?
 
steakman1971 said:
I find LinkedIn useful for keeping track of job recruiters and colleagues. I don't use the site except for that.
Seems like an odd purchase for Microsoft. I'm trying to figure out why they wanted it? Where does it fit into their portfolio?
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They're just throwing crap at the wall to see what sticks, except they're using their money. I honestly don't know what they're thinking.
 
26bn $ ??? For what ?? Just for the email addresses ?

On the other side: hey, MS, do you have a job for me ? You have bought my CV already ...
 
Insula Gilliganis said:
Yes, I have found my social media to be so much better without people in them. I hang around MySpace all day without a care anyone will respond to my posts!!
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When they first started they had use, and connections and actual help finding jobs. Now they are just "popular" and the trash starts flooding in, that is the point.
 
ChristianVirtual said:
26bn $ ??? For what ?? Just for the email addresses ?

On the other side: hey, MS, do you have a job for me ? You have bought my CV already ...
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Damn MS really likes wasting money. Most LinkedIn profiles I've read are peppered with buzzwords trying to make the person sound a lot more important than they really are. I guess MS desperately wants their information for some reason.
 
nightfly said:
I've found linkedin to be handy staying in touch with business contacts. Should be interesting how Microsoft ruins this one.
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I don't know how LinkedIn could be any worse than it is now. Microsoft is either going to keep it as bad as it is now, or make it incredible. There is no in-between.
 
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Seems like a lot of people don't even know what exactly LinkedIn is and keep thinking it as a Resume company ...etc

The company split into 3 part. Talent solution, Marketing solution, Sales solution. Each one of them is a individual entity. And yes, they are much bigger than what most people think it is. It's mostly for corporate, not for average consumer except Lynda and front page of LinkedIn.

Most people are underestimating what LinkedIn really is here. The deal for $26B is actually a bargain for M$, which also doesn't make much sense to me while it's already recovering from Goldman Sach's trap during Q1.
 
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