LinkedIn has announced that it has acquired professional content sharing platform SlideShare for $18.751 million in a combination of approximately 45 percent cash and approximately 55 percent stock.
Founded in October 2006, SlideShare is a popular platform for sharing documents, videos and presentations online. It also helps users as a content discovery platform where users can find the content of their interest. Users can also connect with other members having similar interest.
According to comScore, in March SlideShare had nearly 29 million unique visitors. SlideShare hosts more than nine million presentations uploaded by users.
“Presentations are one of the main ways in which professionals capture and share their experiences and knowledge, which in turn helps shape their professional identity,” said LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner. “These presentations also enable professionals to discover new connections and gain the insights they need to become more productive and successful in their careers, aligning perfectly with LinkedIn’s mission and helping us deliver even more value for our members. We’re very excited to welcome the SlideShare team to LinkedIn.”
Rashmi Sinha, CEO of SlideShare commented, “We built SlideShare to help professionals share presentations and connect people through content. What we can build with LinkedIn, the largest professional network on the Internet, is the most natural extension of this vision. I am excited about what we can build together.”
