Microsoft finally clears the last hurdle towards LinkedIn acquisition. The European Union has approved the acquisition yesterday. With the EU clearance, Microsoft has now obtained all the regulatory consent needed to complete the acquisition and close the deal by the end of the year. EU’s nod comes roughly six months after Microsoft announced its decision to purchase LinkedIn. The EU approval process too will follow the same lines of clearance procedures existent in the US, Canada, Brazil and South Africa.
This sanction from EU is in fact, a great relief for Microsoft since the tech giant has already faced criticisms from its competitors who even complained the EU regulatory authorities to block the deal. Microsoft has agreed to adhere to several commitments regarding its treatment of LinkedIn post the acquisition:
- Microsoft’s Office Add-in feature will be accessible to third-party professional social networking services. The Office Add-in allows developers to integrate their services into Microsoft Office package including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Excel. This will enhance Office users’ experience.
- Third-party social networking services can access promotional opportunities in the Office Store.
- IT administrators and users can customize their Office experience. They can choose whether to display their LinkedIn profile and activity information.
- Windows will not prompt users to install LinkedIn application, though it will be available in the Windows Store. Users can install it as they wish and they are also allowed to uninstall it from their PC. Click here to read more.
- There will not be any agreement with the PC manufacturers of EEA regarding pre-installation of Windows LinkedIn application. Microsoft has also agreed not to exclusively promote the pre-installation of LinkedIn tile or application on Windows PCs. This is to foster a healthy competition among all the growing professional social networking sites.
With the European Union’s approval, the two companies’ shared vision to bring together world’s leading professional cloud and world’s leading professional network is becoming true. Much of the water had flown under the bridge since Microsoft announced its decision to acquire LinkedIn in June. The United Kingdom voted to exit the European Union and the US presidential elections followed with a tumult. The union of Microsoft and LinkedIn will help people online on a large scale to build new skills, identify and pursue new opportunities, and also make more people participate in the growth of the rising digital economy. Click here to find out about Suyati’s capabilities on Microsoft Technologies.
