Microsoft Paying £18bn for LinkedIn

LinkedIn’s share price rose by 50% when the news broke.

Analysts say the deal will help Microsoft boost sales of its business and email software.

Ever had one of those annoying LinkedIn emails asking you to ‘endorse’ one of your connections in a new skill? Perhaps the LinkedIn chief executive and founder deserve to be endorsed for salesmanship after that deal!

After a slow period in which shares fell they have persuaded Microsoft to make its biggest deal. The software giant is paying the equivalent of £173 per user. Thats a 50% premium on the closing share price.

This deal is meant as a powerful signal of where Microsoft is now going. The future will look to cloud computing, providing all sorts of professional services to clients – including a social network to connect them to each other.