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Press Release: LinkedIn to acquire SlideShare for $118,75 million.
In a statement (press release below) Thursday, LinkedIn said the US$118.75 million transaction will be a combination of approximately 45 percent cash and around 55 percent stock. The acquisition is expected to close during the second quarter this year, it added.
LinkedIn noted SlideShare users have uploaded more than nine million presentations, and citing ComScore figures, said it had nearly 29 million unique visitors last March.
LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner said: "Presentations are one of the main ways in which professionals capture and share their experiences and knowledge, which in turn helps shape their professional identity."
"These presentations also enable professionals to discover new connections and gain the insights they need to become more productive and successful in their careers, aligning perfectly with LinkedIn's mission and helping us deliver even more value for our members. We're very excited to welcome the SlideShare team to LinkedIn," added Weiner.
In the same statement, Rashmi Sinha, CEO of SlideShare, said: "We built SlideShare to help professionals share presentations and connect people through content. What we can build with LinkedIn, the largest professional network on the Internet, is the most natural extension of this vision. I am excited about what we can build together."
Deep Nishar, senior vice president of product and user experience at LinkedIn, said in a blog post Thursday that both LinkedIn and SlideShare had been "working closely together" over the past few years, and the acquisition "means good things to professionals everywhere".
LinkedIn's acquisition of SlideShare comes as it announced stellar earnings for the first quarter of 2012, ended Mar. 31.
In a separate statement Thursday, the company said revenue for the first quarter was US$188.5 million, a 101 percent increase from US$93.9 million in the first quarter of 2011. Net income also more than doubled in the first quarter this year to US$5 million, from US$2.1 million in the last year.
Weiner said LinkedIn's "solid performance" in the first quarter was built on the company's momentum in 2011. "We saw strength across all key metrics from member signups and engagement to significant revenue growth across our three product lines."
According to the company, revenue from the U.S. totaled US$120.8 million, representing 64 percent of total revenue in the first quarter of 2012, while revenue from international markets at US$67.6 million, made up the remaining 36 percent.
For the second quarter this year, LinkedIn said it expects revenue to range between US$210 million to US$215 million. It also upgraded its outlook for 2012 full year revenue to range from US$880 million to US$900 million, instead of the prior range of US$840 million to US$860 million.
Press Release:
Mountain View, Calif. – May 3, 2012 – LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD), the world’s largest professional network on the Internet with 161 million members worldwide, today announced it agreed to acquire SlideShare, a leading professional content sharing community.
The transaction is valued at approximately $118.75 million, subject to adjustment, in a combination of approximately 45 percent cash and approximately 55 percent stock. Subject to the completion of customary conditions, the acquisition is expected to close during the second quarter of 2012.
Founded in October 2006, SlideShare helps professionals discover people through content, and content through people. SlideShare users have uploaded more than nine million presentations, and according to comScore, in March SlideShare had nearly 29 million unique visitors, ranking it among the most heavily trafficked sites for professional content.
SlideShare is also enabling the sharing of presentations across the Web; nearly 7.4 million presentations hosted by SlideShare are embedded across more than 1.4 million unique domains.
“Presentations are one of the main ways in which professionals capture and share their experiences and knowledge, which in turn helps shape their professional identity,” said LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner. “These presentations also enable professionals to discover new connections and gain the insights they need to become more productive and successful in their careers, aligning perfectly with LinkedIn’s mission and helping us deliver even more value for our members. We’re very excited to welcome the SlideShare team to LinkedIn.”
Rashmi Sinha, CEO of SlideShare commented, “We built SlideShare to help professionals share presentations and connect people through content. What we can build with LinkedIn, the largest professional network on the Internet, is the most natural extension of this vision. I am excited about what we can build together.”
Deep Nishar, LinkedIn’s Senior Vice President of Product and User Experience, blogged about the acquisition at http://blog.linkedin.com/topic/slideshare/, and a SlideShare presentation outlining the deal can be found on LinkedIn’s SlideShare page at: http://www.slideshare.net/linkedin/linkedin-and-slideshare and on the investor relations section of the LinkedIn website at: http://investors.linkedin.com/.
Press Contact
Investor Contact
Matt Sonefeldt
About LinkedIn
Founded in 2003, LinkedIn connects the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful. With 161 million members worldwide, including executives from every Fortune 500 company, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network on the Internet. The company has a diversified business model with revenues coming from member subscriptions, marketing solutions and hiring solutions. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, LinkedIn has offices across the globe.
About SlideShare
Founded in 2006, SlideShare is a leading professional content sharing community. Professionals can upload content for free, discover people through content, and content through people. SlideShare brings presentations, documents and videos to life on the web for professionals to discover and share. Premium social content marketing subscriptions enable professionals and brands to gain social media engagement and generate sales leads. The company is based in San Francisco, Calif., and is backed by investors including Jonathan Abrams, Mark Cuban, Dave McClure, and Venrock. More information about SlideShare is available at www.slideshare.net.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements related to LinkedIn, SlideShare, the timing and consummation of the acquisition of SlideShare and the potential benefits of the acquisition. Actual events or results may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Please refer to the documents LinkedIn files from time to time with the SEC, including LinkedIn’s most recent Form 10-K and the Form 10-Q LinkedIn will file for the quarter ended March 31, 2012. These SEC filings contain and identify important factors that could cause results of the acquisition to differ materially from those contained in LinkedIn’s forward-looking statements. LinkedIn is under no duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform to actual results.
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