Microsoft closes $26bn LinkedIn acquisition deal

Microsoft has officially sealed its $26bn (£20bn, €24.5bn) LinkedIn acquisition deal, officially making the the owner of the popular social media platform. The closure comes almost six months after Microsoft's intention to acquire LinkedIn first made headlines.

"Today is an exciting day, one I've been looking forward to since June. It marks the close of the agreement for Microsoft to acquire LinkedIn and the beginning of our journey to bring together the world's leading professional cloud and the world's leading professional network," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a blog post.

"As we articulated six months ago, our top priority is to accelerate LinkedIn's growth, by adding value for every LinkedIn member," he wrote. "However, we also see a greater opportunity to help ensure that everyone can benefit from digital technology and the new opportunities created by the digital economy. 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."

"Today I'm pleased to announce that we've just officially closed the acquisition. I'm more confident than ever that our move to join forces with Microsoft will accelerate our mission to connect the world's professionals to make them more productive and successful, and ultimately help create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce," LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner wrote in a blog.

Despite the massive integration plans, Weiner asserted that LinkedIn will "essentially remain unchanged".

The two firms will now begin to integrate their products and services. Nadella outlined "a specific set of integration scenarios" which are slated to come to fruition in the "immediate" future. These include features such as, LinkedIn notifications within Windows action center, allowing users to draft resumes on Word when updating LinkedIn profiles and more.

The integration process will also involve developing a "business news desk" across MSN and other properties, indicating the likelihood of MSN advertisers possibly provided the opportunity to buy space on LinkedIn, which boasts of a 100 million strong monthly visitors, Business Insider reported.

The two firms are also planning on collaborating on innovative technology, including working on AI (artificial intelligence), cloud computing, machine learning and more.