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.
A study published in The Harvard Business Review found the time spent in collaborative activities at work has increased by over 50 per cent in the past two decades. Larger projects; complicated problems; tighter timeframes: These require bigger teams with specialised skillsets and diverse backgrounds, often dispersed globally.
In 2018, only 21 per cent of customers believed that banks in general had their customers best interests at heart and behave ethically. Only 26 per cent believed that banks will keep their promises; views cemented further following the Hayne Financial Services Royal Commission.
Taking people on an emotional journey through content is the most critical part of being a publisher. Which is why emotion lies at the heart of VICE Media.
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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