Microsoft buys LinkedIn

Microsoft has announced that they will acquire LinkedIn, the business-oriented social network for $26.2 billion.

Microsoft has planned to build more services for enterprises by integrate the business-oriented social network into many of their apps and services such as Cortana, Skype and even Office.

At this time, Microsoft is primarily focused on software but with LinkedIn it will give them a far bigger reach in terms of social media for business and professional content.

LinkedIn also has over 433 million users (109 million of which are unique monthly visitors) giving Microsoft a huge social network enabling them to use the platform as a sales channel to sell more of their products.

However, Microsoft is promising to maintain LinkedIn’s independence and they have no plans to replace Jeff Weiner as the CEO of LinkedIn.

According to Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella, they are a perfect fit and he went on to say “The LinkedIn team has grown a fantastic business centered on connecting the world’s professionals” and that “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.”

This is a huge move for Microsoft, as it is a massive leap into the world of social networking. It may not be in the same league as Facebook or Twitter but 433 million members is still a huge slice of the social media market and the platform is certainly one of the largest business-oriented social platforms.

Microsoft hopes to close the deal by the end of the year.