Fusion Corporate Partners

LinkedIn, the business-focused social network, has filed registration documents for an initial public offering. The company plans to raise $275 million by offering 7.94 million shares to the public. Some of the proceed may be used for acquisitions of complementary businesses, technologies or other assets.

In 2010, net revenue was $243.1 million, which represented an increase of 102% from 2009. In 2010, LinkedIn generated $15.4 million of net income and $48.0 million of adjusted EBITDA, which represented an increase of 487% and 227%, respectively, from 2009. For the three months ended March 31, 2011, net revenue was $93.9 million, which represented an increase of 110% from the three months ended March 31, 2010. For the three months ended March 31, 2011, LinkedIn generated $2.1 million of net income and $13.3 million of adjusted EBITDA, which represented an increase of 14% and 46%, respectively, from the three months ended March 31, 2010.

LinkedIn.com launched their webste in May 2003, and by the end of 2003 had 14 employees and over 78,000 members. In September 2004, LinkedIn began generating revenue on their website. They launched LinkedIn Jobs, which is currently a component of LinkedIn hiring solutions, and began generating revenue from it in March 2005. Later that year, LinkedIn launched their first premium subscription product and began generating revenue from it in August 2005. In March 2008, they launched LinkedIn Corporate Solutions, a key component of hiring solutions, further diversifying LinedIn’s sources of revenue. As of December 31, 2010, LinkedIn had 990 employees and over 90 million members. As of March 31, 2011, They had 1,288 employees and over 100 million members.

LinkedIn are headquartered in Mountain View, California. Their international headquarters is located in Dublin, Ireland. They have sales and marketing offices in Australia, Canada, France, India, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. For 2010, 27% of net revenue was derived from customers located outside the United States. For the three months ended March 31, 2011, 31% of net revenue was derived from customers located outside the United States. LinkedIn expect the percentage of total net revenue derived from outside the United States to increase in future periods as they continue to expand international operations.

USA, Mountainview, CA & Ireland Dublin

Microsoft is to acquire acquire Skype, the leading Internet communications company, for $8.5 billion in cash from the investor group led by Silver Lake. The agreement has been approved by the boards of directors of both Microsoft and Skype.

With 170 million connected users and over 207 billion minutes of voice and video conversations in 2010, Skype has been a pioneer in creating connections among friends, families and business colleagues globally.

Skype will support Microsoft devices like Xbox and Kinect, Windows Phone and a wide array of Windows devices, and Microsoft will connect Skype users with Lync, Outlook, Xbox Live and other communities. Microsoft will continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms.

“Skype is a phenomenal service that is loved by millions of people around the world,” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. “Together we will create the future of real-time communications so people can easily stay connected to family, friends, clients and colleagues anywhere in the world.”

Skype will become a new business division within Microsoft, and Skype CEO Tony Bates will assume the title of president of the Microsoft Skype Division, reporting directly to Ballmer.

“Microsoft and Skype share the vision of bringing software innovation and products to our customers,” said Tony Bates. “Together, we will be able to accelerate Skype’s plans to extend our global community and introduce new ways for everyone to communicate and collaborate,” Bates said.

Speaking on behalf of the investor group that sold Skype to Microsoft, Egon Durban, managing director of Silver Lake, said: “We are thrilled with Skype’s transformation during the period of our ownership and grateful for the extraordinary commitment of its management team and employees. We are excited about Skype’s long-term future with Microsoft, as it is poised to become one of the world’s most dynamic and comprehensive communications platforms.”

Founded in 2003, Skype was acquired by eBay in September 2005, and then acquired by an investment group led by Silver Lake in November 2009. Skype has made impressive progress over the past 18 months under Silver Lake’s leadership, increasing monthly calling minutes by 150 percent, developing new revenue streams and strategic partnerships, acquiring the intellectual property powering its peer-to-peer network, and recruiting an outstanding senior management team.

Other members of the selling investor group led by Silver Lake include eBay International AG, CPP Investment Board, Joltid Limited in partnership with Europlay Capital Advisors; and Andreessen Horowitz.

The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The parties hope to obtain all required regulatory clearances during the course of this calendar year.

USA, Redmond, WA and Luxembourg