Acquisition Microsoft’s Attempt to Build Its Own Alphabet?

#Microsoft ’s acquisition of #LinkedIn is big and bold — and likely to be consequential. Precisely how consequential and in what way is still a puzzle to observers.

One reason for the uncertainty is that we don’t know yet what kind of acquisition this is. I see three possibilities, each with its own rationale and trajectory.

One type of acquisition is the strategic remix. In this model, the acquired assets and capabilities are combined with existing assets to generate new business or to save costs. Is this what Microsoft and LinkedIn are doing?

Possibly, but the concrete synergies are hard to see, especially considering the $9 billion premium that Microsoft is paying over LinkedIn’s market value as of last week. The only numbers we have so far is that the companies expect $150 million in annual savings by 2018. Beyond that, there are vague tech-speak promises of how LinkedIn’s social network might help Microsoft’s enterprise businesses. Investors can be excused for beingpuzzled at the numbers.

https://hbr.org/2016/06/is-the-linkedin-acquisition-microsofts-attempt-to-build-its-own-alphabet