Microsoft has acquired a number of small companies in the past but today they are announcing that they will be acquiring LinkedIn for US$ 26.2 billion. To put that number in perspective, Microsft is paying 4x more then they did with the 7.2 billion Nokia acquisition. LinkedIn is the largest professional network with over 433 million users and Microsoft says that LinkedIn will continue to be an independent company even after they are acquired and LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner will continue his role to lead LinkedIn.

It is still not clear what Microsoft plans to do with LinkedIn but it looks like they are planning to take advantage of one of LinkedIn's recent purchase, lynda.com. Additionally, with LinkedIn, Microsoft will also be able to improve their offerings with Office 365. Read more about what LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner thinks about the Microsoft acquisition here

The LinkedIn acquisition is expected to complete by the end of 2016.