LinkedIn is bolstering its product offering with the announcement of its acquisition of professional content sharing service SlideShare.
SlideShare, a five-year -old service, is said to have 29 million unique users and nine million content uploads in total, with 7.4 million presentations hosted by the service and embedded on over 1.4 million Web sites.
LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner says: “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.”
According to a statement, the transaction is valued at about $118.9 million, in a combination of 45% cash and 55% stock. The acquisition is expected to be closed during the second quarter.
In a blog post, SlideShare CEO Rashmi Sinha says his company “could not be happier” about the acquisition. “We think this is the right step for the SlideShare community, the site, and the team.
“We mostly grew by word-of-mouth and virally. The only business deal I aggressively pursued was when I heard that there might be a LinkedIn developer platform in the works. I activated every connection through advisors, investors, and friends, determined that SlideShare be part of LinkedIn's platform.”
Sinha says the acquisition is a natural culmination of SlideShare's partnership with LinkedIn. SlideShare Sinha will continue to run SlideShare and the service will remain as is.
“Over time you will see some integrations that take advantage of the great fit between SlideShare and LinkedIn,” explains Sinha.
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