“The use of debt rather than stock will reassure those that worry this is another sign of a market top, and will have the added benefit of raising the prospect of a buyer for Twitter,” said Chris Beauchamp, senior market analyst at IG. The deal heightened expectations of more tech mergers to come. “With this deal lightening Microsoft’s coffers to the tune of $26bn, make that an exodus of biblical proportions.” “Shares in Microsoft were understandably suspended from trading in the lead-up to this bit of news, given that the traditional reaction to such an announcement often involves a shareholder exodus from the predator,” pointed out Augustin Eden, research analyst at Accendo Markets, who described LinkedIn as “professional networking/dating/narcissism website”. Hoffman’s share - about 10.9% of the company outstanding shares - was worth more than $2.69bn (£1.89bn).Įven as LinkedIn shares soared on the announcement, Microsoft shares are expected to take a bit of a beating in the near future. The deal, which has already been approved by the two companies’ boards, is expected to be completed by the end of this year.Īfter the deal was announced on Monday, LinkedIn was valued at $24.68bn (£17.34bn).
Weiner added that the “relationship with Microsoft, and the combination of their cloud and LinkedIn’s network … gives us a chance to change the way the world works.” Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn’s co-founder and controlling shareholder, described the deal as “a re-founding moment” for the company.
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