微軟262億美元收購領英(LinkedIn)

Microsoft has bought LinkedIn for $26.2bn, as the Seattle-based software company seeks to expand its reach into professional networking.

微軟(Microsoft)以262億美元收購了領英(LinkedIn)，這家總部位於美國西雅圖的軟件公司尋求將觸角伸至職業社交領域。

The deal is Microsoft’s biggest-ever acquisition, and follows a pattern of bold moves by chief executive Satya Nadella to reinvent the company that is known primarily as the maker of the Windows operating system.

這筆全現金交易是微軟有史以來最大一筆收購，也是科技行業今年迄今最大的收購交易。它符合其首席執行官薩蒂亞·納德拉(Satya Nadella)一連串大膽舉措的模式，目的是再造這家主要以開發Windows操作系統聞名的公司。

The offer of $196 a share represents a 50 per cent premium to LinkedIn’s closing price on Friday and is inclusive of the professional networking website’s net cash.

每股196美元的收購價相對於領英上週五的收盤價有50%的溢價，且包括了該職業社交網站的淨現金。

LinkedIn’s shares have fallen 40 per cent over the past year, and plummeted when the company lowered its outlook for professional subscription services revenues.

領英的股價在過去一年下跌了40%，在該公司下調職業訂閱服務收入的預測後一度暴跌。

Chief executive Jeff Weiner will remain chief executive of LinkedIn, and founder Reid Hoffman will remain board chairman.

領英首席執行官傑夫·韋納(Jeff Weiner)將留任原職，創始人雷德·霍夫曼(Reid Hoffman)也仍然任董事會主席。

A slump in tech stocks this year could lead to further consolidation in the sector, according to analysts. Twitter and Yahoo are also seen as possible acquisition targets.

據分析師稱，今年科技股的低迷可能會引領該行業進一步整合。推特(Twitter)和雅虎(Yahoo)也被視爲可能的收購目標。

The news sent LinkedIn’s shares up 50 per cent in pre-market trading. Microsoft shares fell 4 per cent.

這一消息令領英股價飆升了47%，而微軟的股價下挫了2%。

In an email to staff, Mr Nadella said: “This deal brings together the world’s leading professional cloud with the world’s leading professional network … LinkedIn will retain its distinct brand and independence, as well as their culture which is very much aligned with ours.”

納德拉在致全體員工的一份電郵中說：“這筆交易把全球頂尖的專業雲端服務和全球頂尖的職業社交網絡結合到一起……領英將保留其特有品牌和獨立性，以及其企業文化——它跟我們的文化相當契合。”

Mr Nadella added that any staff not already using the network should “join up now and start using and learning more”.

納德拉補充道，尚未開始使用領英網的員工應該“現在就加入，開始更多地使用和學習”。

Benedict Evans, partner at Andreessen Horowitz, tweeted that the deal was part of Microsoft’s attempts to recreate “the connective tissue for enterprises”. However, he said LinkedIn would “take a lot of fixing”.

風險投資公司Andreessen Horowitz的合夥人本尼迪克特·埃文斯(Benedict Evans)在Twitter上發帖稱，這筆交易是微軟重造“企業結締組織”嘗試的一部分。但他表示，領英將“需要很多修補工作”。

Mr Evans added that it helped that they could do this without the “media distraction” of shareholders.

埃文斯補充說，兩家公司的股東未被“媒體分心”，這有助於他們達成這筆交易。

Ben Wood, an analyst at CCS Insight, said LinkedIn was a “valuable asset” that Microsoft could be deeply integrated with number of Microsoft products such as Office 365, Exchange and Outlook.

市場研究公司CCS Insight的分析師本·伍德(Ben Wood)說，領英是一項“有價值的資產”，可用於跟一系列微軟產品進行深度整合，如Office 365、Exchange和Outlook。

LinkedIn’s stock was hit at the beginning of the year amid concerns that the company’s growth may be slowing and that the subscription service it sells to recruiters could be hit by a global economic slowdown.

領英的股價在年初受到打壓，有擔憂稱該公司增長會放緩，而它向招聘者銷售的訂閱服務會受到全球經濟放緩影響。

However, the network does have opportunities in China and India. It is the only major US social network to operate in China, where it has launched both the global network and a separate app tailored to the Chinese professional world.

然而，該網站在中國和印度都有機遇。它是在中國運營的唯一一家美國主流社交網絡，它在中國推出了其全球網絡和一個專爲中國職場打造的app。