Analysts said the price was rich, and Microsoft's stock closed down 2.7 percent at $50.14. 'There is no better way to realize that mission than to connect the world's professionals.' The $196-per-share price tag represented a premium of almost 50 percent over LinkedIn's stock market value as of Friday, but was still well below the social media company's all-time high of $270. 'LinkedIn and Microsoft really share a mission' of helping people work more efficiently, said Microsoft CEO Nadella in a conference call with analysts. By connecting widely used software like Microsoft Word and PowerPoint with LinkedIn's network of 433 million professionals, the combination could enable Microsoft to add a suite of sales, marketing and recruiting services to its core business products and potentially challenge cloud software rivals such as Inc. By Sarah McBride (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp will buy LinkedIn Corp for $26.2 billion in its biggest-ever deal, a bold stroke by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in his efforts to make the venerable software company a major force in next-generation computing.

Microsoft buy linkedin