LinkedIn ups educational credentials with $1.5bn Lynda.com acquisition
LinkedIn has acquired online education site Lynda.com for $1.5bn in a move which will help the professional social network aid its members in boosting their academic and creative skills.
LinkedIn’s 300 million global members will likely be opened up to the company’s sizable library of self-betterment courses which are available in English, German, French, Spanish, and Japanese.
The transaction will close in the second quarter of 2015, purchased using a combination of approximately 52 percent cash and approximately 48 percent stock
Jeff Weiner, chief executive of LinkedIn, said: "The mission of LinkedIn and the mission of Lynda.com are highly aligned. Both companies seek to help professionals be better at what they do.
"Lynda.com's extensive library of premium video content helps empower people to develop the skills needed to accelerate their careers. When integrated with the hundreds of millions of members and millions of jobs on LinkedIn, lynda.com can change the way in which people connect to opportunity."
Lynda Weinman, co-founder and executive chair of the board of lynda.com, added: “This is such an exciting moment in the 20-year history of lynda.com, and I couldn't imagine a better pairing than lynda.com and LinkedIn.”
Lynda.com was founded in 1995 by Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin.