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Microsoft to acquire LinkedIn for $26B

news.microsoft.com

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Re: Microsoft to acquire LinkedIn for $26B

#721

Post by julianz »

novaRom wrote: post #441
_yosefk wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

MS could, erm, look up those org charts on linkedin.com for $0 (indeed very useful at times.) What value is added by buying LinkedIn for $26G? How owning LinkedIn is going to add $1-1.5B/year (assuming eventually you want a P/E between, I dunno, 15 and 25), to MS's revenue? (I'm sure someone at MS has an answer to this, it's just that they haven't been tremendously successful in the past with their big acquisitions;…

> What value is added by buying LinkedIn for $26G? 1. Integrate Skype into LinkedIn 2. Add a shared chat screen (video group chat) This will allow many Human Resources to perform interviews more efficiently (in return to subscription). I can imagine many other new attractive features MS could easily add (e.g. syntax highlighting in group chat).

They haven't managed to integrate Skype into anything else, it's a complete shemozzle. Why would they suddenly manage to integrate it into LinkedIn?

Re: Microsoft to acquire LinkedIn for $26B

#722

Post by dopamean »

alex_c wrote: post #686
dopamean wrote: post #673

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not "criticism in hindsight." It's simply acknowledging that those same "bright cookies" can make mistakes.

Fair enough. My point was that there's a difference between a valuation mistake and a calculated risk that doesn't work out - and it can be very difficult to tell which one's which, especially from the outside. Any acquisition can end up a failure because of integration issues, changing market conditions, failure to execute new products, etc. - it doesn't necessarily mean the original valuation was wrong.

Very good points. Thanks.

Re: Microsoft to acquire LinkedIn for $26B

#723

Post by vtlynch »

malka wrote: post #697
vtlynch wrote: post #684

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here is the main problem: Who likes LinkedIn? Sure, we can debate its usefulness, how popular it is outside of IT, etc. But I think across the board, no one LIKES LinkedIn.

You dont need to be liked to be popular. How many people like facebook ?

Thats my point though. You dont have to be liked to be popular, but it becomes a lot easier for someone else to become popular if you are not liked.

And I do think the general sentiment towards Facebook is much more positive than LinkedIn.

Re: Microsoft to acquire LinkedIn for $26B

#725

Post by julianz »

rck404 wrote: post #677
anentropic wrote: post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

does anyone actually interact on LinkedIn? I thought it was just a platform for recruitment spam

Imagine this: A recruiter messages you and then follows up with a skype interview through LinkedIn.

So you can tell them in person that you don't live in the same country or work in even vaguely the same area rather than ignoring them as you do now?

Re: Microsoft to acquire LinkedIn for $26B

#727

Post by MikeHolman »

martyvis wrote: post #668
marme wrote: post #644

Earlier quoted context omitted.

MS bought skype just to stop google from buying they. Google made a big for skype and MS swooped in and outbid them. They never had any real plans for skype they just dont want to allow google to gain near monopoly in the consumer VOIP market. Which seems strange for MS to care about since they were not in this sector previously but Ballmer just held such a huge grudge with google and did it out of spite. Really show…

Skype for Business (and it's predecessor Lync) owns corporate voice and collaboration market

Skype for Business is just rebranded Lync. AFAIK there aren't any new features that were integrated across from Skype. Hell, it's still lync.exe.

Re: Microsoft to acquire LinkedIn for $26B

#728

Post by ChrisRus »

maciejb wrote: post #71
dadafoo wrote: post #23

The internet is becomming more and more like real world businesses. We're going to be left with four or so big companies. Facebook, Google, Microsoft. Yahoo Twitter e.t.c will be swallowed up next.

Don't forget Amazon

will not be swallowed

Re: Microsoft to acquire LinkedIn for $26B

#730

Post by api »

mwambua wrote: post #119
yosefk wrote: post #3

Skype, Nokia, Minecraft, LinkedIn. Also Yahoo, almost, at one point. Best of luck to Microsoft with its latest acquisition. It doesn't look that sensible though.

Skype is one of the more regrettable acquisitions. Linux support has been deplorable ever since.

The whole thing has been deplorable since they un-P2P'd it. Terribly performance and call quality.
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