Last month, Microsoft announced that it would acquire LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in an all cash deal, hoping that the leading professional network would help the company achieve its goal of empowering every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. The transaction is expected to close this calendar year, and in the meantime, the still independent professional network has announced today that it has acquired Pointdrive, a Chicago-based startup which has developed an innovative sales tool that helps sales professionals engage with prospects and customers through the sharing of rich content (via Techcrunch)
While LinkedIn already had its own sales product in Sales Navigator, LinkedIn VP of product David Thacker also announced news that “our very own global sales organization became a PointDrive customer about a year ago and their product has become one of the most valued tools for our teams.”
Furthermore, it seems that LinkedIn has big ambitions for its sales product going forward as the VP added that this acquisition will help the professional network become “the most effective social selling platform online.”
We’re enthusiastic about the future possibilities of integrating the PointDrive experience with our Sales Solutions portfolio. We believe that combining our network and product with their content-sharing application will help to better position LinkedIn as a platform where sales professionals can build stronger relationships with customers and prospects.
LinkedIn created its Sales Navigator Product two years ago and it has yet to generate as much revenue as its Talent Solutions offering. However, Techcrunch reports that the company’s Sales Solutions saw its revenues increase by 55% year-over-year during the last quarter, now representing 40% of LinkedIn’s premium Subscription revenue. It’s not clear yet if the professional network will keep PointDrive has a standalone premium product or fully integrate it into its preexisting Sales Navigator premium tiers.
