Microsoft’s LinkedIn acquisition gets approval from EU regulators

Though they’ve come down hard on Apple (AAPL) and Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Google recently, European Union regulators took a softer touch with Microsoft (MSFT) in announcing on Tuesday its conditional approval of the software giant’s $26.2 billion deal to buy LinkedIn (LNKD) .

The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, said it had released the deal on condition that, after the merger, Microsoft allowed other professional networking sites to access Office programs over the next five years and give computer makers Option to not install a LinkedIn network shortcut on the desktop. The key distinction here is that most of Microsoft’s failed acquisitions were made under Steve Ballmer, and Satya Nadella has now been CEO for over two-and-a-half years.

As reported by ARN, the deal will see Jeff Weiner remain CEO of LinkedIn, reporting to Nadella, with Reid Hoffman, chairman of the board, co-founder and controlling shareholder of LinkedIn, and Weiner both fully supporting the transaction.

Microsoft had faced opposition from Salesforce, which had competed for LinkedIn and asked European regulators to investigate the competitive implications of the deal. And the integration of that vast network with Active Directory, Outlook and other Microsoft identity-based services also could be a long term victor.

Nadella also mentioned that LinkedIn members who were writing up a CV in Word would be able to update their social media profile from within the word processing app, and indeed apply for jobs on LinkedIn directly.

The integration process will also involve developing a “business news desk” across MSN and other properties, indicating the likelihood of MSN advertisers possibly provided the opportunity to buy space on LinkedIn, which boasts of a 100 million strong monthly visitors, Business Insider reported.

However, it is also uful intelligence that Microsoft can build into its products.

This story, “EU approves LinkedIn deal after Microsoft makes concessions” was originally published by Computerworld. LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator tool, which Microsoft had set eyes on from the beginning, will be integrated into its CRM tool Dynamics.

Extend LinkedIn Learning across Office 365 and Windows. The acquisition is now expected to close in coming days, Brad Smith, Microsoft’s chief legal officer, wrote in a company blog post. Second, Salesforce has said that the deal gives Microsoft an unfair competitive advantage since it would have the social network’s enormous amount of data.