Microsoft is robbed of relatives: Salesforce or acquires LinkedIn at a higher price than $26.2 billion

In mid-September, Microsoft announced through an official blog that the company had reached a definitive agreement with LinkedIn to purchase all of its equity and net cash, including LinkedIn, at US$196 per share, for a total of US$26.2 billion in cash. Everyone thought that good things had already happened. When discussing the big data strategy issues of Microsoft, Salesforce came to grab a kiss.

Salesforce founder Marc Benioff said in an email that Salesforce will be willing to successfully negotiate a deal with LinkedIn at a price that is much higher than Microsoft's $26.2 billion or change some acquisition terms. Is Microsoft paying a premium of 50% and has been "pursuiting" a five-year deal, and it will still be snatched away?

It is understood that Salesforce and Microsoft have been bidding on the previous bid for LinkedIn. Microsoft first seized the opportunity because the company’s all-cash acquisition approach made LinkedIn safer than Salesforce’s uncertain stock and cash comprehensive financial acquisitions. But now, Salesforce proposes a far higher than Microsoft's 26.2 billion US dollars acquisition program, the world's Hee-hee is profit, LinkedIn is still shaken. It is reported that LinkedIn has held an emergency shareholders meeting on July 7 to discuss the proposal put forward by Marc Benioff.

However, if LinkedIn really wants to repent, it will also have to pay a price. Because, the company has signed a final agreement with Microsoft, if you go back, LinkedIn will pay 725 million US dollars to Microsoft. Earlier, we also heard the case of purchase estoppel. That is because if the acquisition law has not yet completed the final handover, the party to be purchased can unconditionally change the transaction object.

It is worth mentioning that LinkedIn has consulted with Salesforce and Microsoft, as well as Google, Facebook, and other companies showing interest in acquiring LinkedIn. On the one hand, LinkedIn’s position in business social networking is irreplaceable. It is very important that LinkedIn has grown from a company with annual revenue of about 70 million revenues to a company with a revenue of USD 3 billion for five years. Increased more than 40 times. This growth rate is staggering in the area of ​​corporate services. On the other hand, LinkedIn's stock price environment is not ideal. In February of this year, LinkedIn's stock price plunged more than 40%, the market value evaporates nearly half, and once caused the US stocks technology vane NASDAQ Composite Index plummeted. In such circumstances, it is a low-value, high-value merger for many companies.