Of all the social media properties, I’ve always really got LinkedIn. It has a proper business model which (like TechMarketView) relies on corporate subscriptions rather than just advertising. It has revolutionised the recruitment business. I do not know one agency or head-hunter that doesn’t make use of LinkedIn. Indeed, we at TechMarketView regularly refer to LinkedIn whilst doing any research on people.
Shareholders have been well rewarded. IPOed at $45 in 2011, yesterday they closed at $246. Now that is impressive. In turn their market value has increased from $4.3b to $32b. LinkedIn are profitable, cash positive and growing rapidly. They have already adapted to mobile – which now accounts for over a third of LinkedIn’s visitors.
Yesterday, LinkedIn announced that they would be raising $1b in a secondary offering. As LinkedIn has nearly $1b in cash already, one can only guess that they have an acquisition (or two) in mind. Although LinkedIn has engaged in some M&A already, it has tended to be ‘strategic’ – the kind we prefer.