That helps to explain the US$26.2 billion price tag
Microsoft surprised everyone Monday when it announced plans to acquire LinkedIn for more than US$26 billion. But it wasn't the only suitor: Salesforce wanted in, too.
The San Francisco-based software-as-a-service vendor was interested in LinkedIn primarily for its recruiting business, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff told Recode on Thursday. The company gave LinkedIn a "solid look" but was unable to match Microsoft's huge offer.
Salesforce's interest makes sense: information from the business-focused social network could have proved useful to people working with Salesforce products. Microsoft has similar ambitions for LinkedIn, which it sees as a potential boon to its Dynamics CRM and Office offerings in particular.
According to Recode, Salesforce approached LinkedIn when the company was already deep into negotiations with Microsoft. Salesforce's bid was reportedly a combined cash and stock offer, while Microsoft's final bid was all cash, and allows LinkedIn to continue operating independently.
It's an interesting bit of backstory, especially given that Microsoft last year reportedly tried to buy Salesforce.
Salesforce itself is no stranger to big acquisitions; two weeks ago it said it would buy e-commerce cloud service provider Demandware for $2.8 billion. "It's the season of M&A," Benioff told Recode.
Microsoft, meanwhile, isn't slowing down its acquisition pace either. On Thursday it said it had acquired chat app maker Wand for an undisclosed sum.
As a Media Juror at this year’s Cannes Lions, I was fortunate enough to attend the world’s most influential festival of creativity and listen to thought-leading marketers from around the globe.
In recent times, the clarion call from futurists, economists, marketers, educators and leaders the world over is one of slight panic, “The world is changing and you’re not ready for it!” And of course, they make a very good point.
Big brands were once protected from small brands by high barriers to entry. Big brands had the resources to employ big agencies, to crack big ideas and to invest in big campaigns. They had the luxury of time to debate strategies and work on long-term innovation pipelines. Retailers used to partner with big brands.
In this bonus last episode of this new podcast series, BrandHook MD, Pip Stocks, talks with former ANZ group general manager of marketing, Louise Eyres, talks about the importance of thinking like a customer and using intuition to solve customer painpoints.
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