Microsoft is buying LinkedIn for $26.2bn – or $196 per share – in the biggest acquisition in its history.
The professional social network was founded in 2002 has some 430 million members, meaning the acquisition values each member at more than $60.
According to Chris Parker from the World Economic Forum, the deal is the third biggest tech acquisition of all time, after Dell's purchase of data storage company EMC Corp for a record $67 billion and chipmaker Avago’s purchase of Broadcom for $37 billion.
The list excludes spin-offs, telecoms and non-tech transactions, especially, the huge AOL and Time Warner merger in 2000.