Microsoft Is Acquiring LinkedIn for $26 Billion

In the business world, mergers and acquisitions are a pretty standard occurrence, but once in a while, a deal comes along that's headline-worthy. As TechCrunch reports, Microsoft will be buying LinkedIn for a whopping $26.2 billion. The deal might seem surprising at first, but in the age of Slack and other productivity and work-related software, as well as Microsoft's increasingly business-oriented model, the pair are actually a pretty logical fit. 

In the video above, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner discuss how the deal came to be, and what the merger means for both sides. "I've always had a great admiration for LinkedIn and what Reid [Hoffman, LinkedIn co-founder and current chairman], and Jeff, and the team here have built," Nadella says.

"This deal will allow us to keep growing, investing in and innovating on LinkedIn to drive value for our members and our customers," Weiner wrote in a LinkedIn blog post. But exactly does that mean for the future of your LinkedIn profile?

TechCrunch reports that LinkedIn is active in 200 countries and has over 433 million registered users. The platform's branding and product will remain the same, but in a letter to Microsoft employees, Nadella said that Microsoft is working on product integration plans for Microsoft's Office 365 and Microsoft Dynamics. "LinkedIn will retain its distinct brand and independence, as well as their culture which is very much aligned with ours," he wrote. "In essence, what I’ve asked Jeff to do is manage LinkedIn with key performance metrics that accrue to our overall success. He’ll decide from there what makes sense to integrate and what does not."

For more on the details of the merger, read Nadella's email and Weiner's blog post, or head to your LinkedIn page to see what your connections think about the news.

[h/t TechCrunch]

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