Now that most of the Microsoft-Yahoo stuff is (at least temporarily) out of the way, it’s time for the rumor mill to latch onto some other topic. One contender is the possible acquisition of LinkedIn.
Dan Nye, CEO Of LinkedIn
LinkedIn has long been surrounded by talk of acquisitions and IPOs. The company’s user base is small (at least compared to MySpace or Facebook), but the users are wealthy and influential enough to make up the difference in advertisers’ minds. Never mind pitching to poor college kids; how about CEOs?
So here we go again, although not with too much evidence. Eric Eldon writes, “The Mountain View, Calif. company’s board meeting last week went way over the scheduled time, and sources tell us there’s some ‘good’ news coming. The details are still hazy, but worth noting because of the ongoing rumors swirling about the company’s long-term plans.”
In terms of buyers, Eldon mentions News Corp. Another possibility is Google, since it’s been so interested in building up a social presence lately. Dan Nye, the CEO of LinkedIn, once said that it would take “a lot more” than $1 billion to buy his company, so suitors with much shallower pockets aren’t likely to exist.
Don’t forget the IPO option, either. This might not look like a fantastic time to enter the stock market, but the nice thing about LinkedIn’s rich users and business-oriented network is that they’ll likely “power through” a recession.
