Microsoft’s $26 Billion Deal to Acquire LindkedIn Cleared By EU

The deal will allow both the company to focus on the enterprise segment in a big way.

The European Commission has cleared the $26 billion LinkedIn acquisition by Microsoft and the deal will close in coming days, Microsoft said on Wednesday.

The tech giant has now obtained all of the regulatory approvals needed to complete the acquisition.

As part of our discussions with the European Commission, we formalised several commitments regarding Microsoft’s support for third-party professional social networking services,” said Brad Smith, President and Chief Legal Officer

Microsoft blog post

The approval in Brussels follows similar reviews and clearances in the United States, Canada, Brazil and South Africa.

In June this year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner announced their shared vision for bringing together the world's leading professional cloud with the world's leading professional network.

Microsoft and LinkedIn together have a bigger opportunity to help people online to develop and earn credentials for new skills, identify and pursue new jobs, and become more creative and productive as they work with their colleagues.

If we develop a LinkedIn application or a tile for Windows PCs and include it in Windows, we’ll allow PC manufacturers to choose not to install them on their Windows PCs in the European Economic Area or EEA. Similarly, we’ll ensure that users can uninstall the application and tile if they wish. We also won’t use Windows itself to prompt users to install a LinkedIn application, although it can remain available in the Windows Store and be promoted in other ways

Brad Smith – President and Chief Legal Officer

LinkedIn has 433 million members and two million of them are paid subscribers.