LinkedIn's social media network for professionals is about to get a little more, well, professional.
"This is our largest acquisition to date and incredibly important to realizing our vision to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce." (Video via LinkedIn)
LinkedIn announced Thursday it was purchasing online education company Lynda.com for a total of $1.5 billion, $780 million of which will be in cash with the rest in company stock.
LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner lauded Lynda.com as a "best-in-class collection of high-quality premium content that is focused on professional skills" and that the two companies shared a similar mission.
Lynda Weinman, Lynda.com's co-founder, released her own statement — appropriately enough — on LinkedIn. There, she wrote, "We are thrilled to be part of something bigger than ourselves and look forward to helping more people learn the skills that are needed in today's rapidly changing economic landscape." (Video via lynda.com)
Lynda.com is a subscription-based service. So, the purchase will bolster not only LinkedIn's revenue, but also its reach. In an interview last year with the Pacific Coast Business Times, Weinman said her company generates more than $100 million annually from 4 million subscribers in 150 countries.
While LinkedIn already allows its users to share what skills they know, the professional network is hoping the acquisition will enable users to expand on those skills or add even more to their repertoire using the more than 2,900 courses on lynda.com.
No word yet on how exactly LinkedIn will integrate Lynda.com into its site, but it's expected that the education site's 500 or so employees will join LinkedIn's team.
This video includes images from Getty Images.
