Microsoft is all set to acquire LinkedIn for a whopping $26.2 billion, in an all-cash transaction. This is one of the biggest deals in the tech world. Microsoft in its official blog announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with LinkedIn in which it will acquire the latter for $196 per share.
“Today is a re-founding moment for LinkedIn,” Reid Hoffman, chairman of LinkedIn’s board, said in a statement. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said, “The LinkedIn team has grown a fantastic business centered on connecting the world’s professionals.”
We take a look at five facts about Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn:
1) The offer of $196 per share represents a premium of 49.5 percent to LinkedIn’s Friday closing price.
2) Jeff Weiner will remain CEO of LinkedIn, reporting to Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft.
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3) The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both LinkedIn and Microsoft. The deal is expected to close this calendar year and is subject to approval by LinkedIn’s shareholders, the satisfaction of certain regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
4) Microsoft will finance the transaction primarily through the issuance of new indebtedness. Upon closing, Microsoft expects LinkedIn’s financials to be reported as part of Microsoft’s Productivity and Business Processes segment.
5) Morgan Stanley is acting as exclusive financial advisor to Microsoft, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is acting as legal advisor to Microsoft. Qatalyst Partners and Allen & Company LLC are acting as financial advisors to LinkedIn, while Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation, is acting as legal advisor.
