LinkedIn To Buy Online Learning Firm Lynda.com For $1.5 Bln Cash, Stock

(RTTNews) - Professional networking site LinkedIn (LNKD) Thursday said it agreed to acquire Carpinteria, California-based lynda.com, an online learning company, in a cash and stock transaction valued at about $1.5 billion.

The transaction comprises a combination of 52 percent cash and 48 percent stock. The acquisition is expected to close during the second quarter of 2015. Following closing, most members of the lynda.com team are expected to join LinkedIn.

lynda.com, co-founded in 1995 by Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin, teaches business, technology and creative skills to help people achieve their professional goals.

Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn, said, "The mission of LinkedIn and the mission of lynda.com are highly aligned. Both companies seek to help professionals be better at what they do. lynda.com's extensive library of premium video content helps empower people to develop the skills needed to accelerate their careers. When integrated with the hundreds of millions of members and millions of jobs on LinkedIn, lynda.com can change the way in which people connect to opportunity."

Through a subscription to lynda.com's service, individual members and organizations have access to top quality courses taught by industry experts, offered in English, German, French, Spanish, and Japanese.

Apart from individual subscribers, lynda.com serves corporate, government and educational organizations through its lyndaEnterprise, lyndaPro, lyndaCampus, lyndaLibrary and lyndaKiosk products. lynda.com offers a massive library of high-quality courses.

LNKD which closed on Wednesday at $252.26, gained 1.4 percent in pre-market activity.