Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner. (Microsoft Photo)
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner. (Microsoft Photo)

Microsoft’s deal to buy professional social network LinkedIn for $26.2 billion has officially closed.

Microsoft announced completion of the deal, the largest in Microsoft’s history, just two days after getting the final regulatory sign-off from the European Commission, with conditions. Microsoft announced the acquisition in June, and regulators in the U.S. and other countries had already cleared the deal.

Microsoft had faced opposition from Salesforce, which had competed for LinkedIn and asked European regulators to investigate the competitive implications of the deal.

With the deal done, Microsoft has started laying out its initial plans for LinkedIn. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner both posted articles on LinkedIn about the next steps for the combined company. They listed a few integrations being pursued right away. From the blog posts:

  • LinkedIn identity and network in Microsoft Outlook and the Office suite
  • LinkedIn notifications within the Windows action center
  • Enabling members drafting résumés in Word to update their profiles, and discover and apply to jobs on LinkedIn
  • Extending the reach of Sponsored Content across Microsoft properties
  • Enterprise LinkedIn Lookup powered by Active Directory and Office 365
  • LinkedIn Learning available across the Office 365 and Windows ecosystem
  • Developing a business news desk across our content ecosystem and MSN.com
  • Redefining social selling through the combination of Sales Navigator and Dynamics 365

Weiner wrote that day-to-day operations won’t change at LinkedIn, and Nadella added that Microsoft’s biggest goal is to speed up LinkedIn’s growth. The overall mission that drove the deal was “to help professionals transform how they work, realize new career opportunities and connect in new ways,” Nadella wrote.

Microsoft wants to make sure everyone benefits from technology. With LinkedIn on board, Microsoft will attempt to do that through helping “people develop new skills online, find new jobs and easily connect and collaborate with colleagues,” Nadella wrote.

He continued: “Technology alone will not solve these challenges, but together, working across private and public sectors, we can create more opportunity for everyone to participate and share in economic growth.”

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