The Law firms that advised on Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn
On June 13, 2016, Microsoft and LinkedIn Corporation, the world’s largest professional network with more than 433 million members in 200 countries and territories around the globe, announced a definitive agreement for Microsoft to acquire LinkedIn for approximately $26.2 billion, or $196 a share.
Simpson Thacher is representing Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is advising LinkedIn in the transaction.
The transaction is expected to close this calendar year and is subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
Headquartered in Mountain View, California, LinkedIn is publicly held and has a diversified business model with revenues coming from member subscriptions, advertising sales, and talent solutions. LinkedIn connects the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful, and transforms the ways companies hire, market, and sell. The company’s vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce through the ongoing development of the world’s first Economic Graph. LinkedIn’s site officially launched on May 5, 2003.
The Simpson Thacher team includes Alan Klein, Anthony Vernace, William Allen, Grady Chang and Kathryn Crumbaugh (M&A); William Brentani (Capital Markets); Lori Lesser, Marcela Robledo, Michael Chao and Amber Harezlak (Intellectual Property); Greg Grogan, Aimee Adler, Nadine Mompremier and Monisha Bhayana (Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits); Jonathan Goldstein and William Smolinski (Tax); Krista McManus and Rachel Stein (Real Estate); Adeeb Fadil and Noreen Lavan (Environmental); and Joyce Xu, Lihua Chen and Shimeng Cheng (Derivatives). Summer Associates Andrew Mandelbaum, Oliver Sall, Elizabeth Gladstone, Connor Haynes, Kamron Cox, Remy Denner and Amy Oster also provided valuable assistance.
WSGR has a longstanding relationship with LinkedIn, having represented the company in several milestone transactions, including its $353 million IPO in 2011 and its $1.5 billion acquisition of online education company lynda.com in 2015.
The WSGR team advising LinkedIn includes the following:
Corporate/M&A:
Katie Martin
Marty Korman
Brad Finkelstein
Doug Schnell
Peter Chess
Melissa Smit
Sasha Hahn
Diana Lorenz
Technology Transactions:
Selwyn Goldberg
TJ Graham
Tracy Rubin
Brandon Palmen
Lixian Hantover
Employee Benefits and Compensation:
John Aguirre
Scott McCall
Jessica Bliss
Litigation:
Boris Feldman
Elizabeth Peterson
Tax:
Ivan Humphreys
Myra Sutanto Shen
Timothy Shapiro
Privacy and Data Protection:
Matt Staples
Regulatory:
Josephine Aiello LeBeau
Don Vieira
Anne Seymour
Larry Perrone
Real Estate:
Jim McCann
Kimberly McMorrow
Jeremiah Nelson
Sean Wilkinson
Finance and Structured Finance:
Michael Occhiolini
Erik Franks
Michael Rosati
Employment Law:
Jason Storck
Matt Damm
Corporate Governance:
William Chandler III
Amy Simmerman
Source: Simpson Thacher & WSGR
