EU approved $26 billion deal Microsoft-Linkedin

The European Union has given Microsoft the green light over its $26 billion acquisition of LinkedIn, CNBC reports. As expected, the EU has put some conditions in the deal. As expected, the EU has put some conditions in the deal.

The European Commission granted its approval on the condition that Microsoft allows rival professional networking sites to integrate its Office applications and cloud-computing services for the next five years. PC makers in the EU will also have the option of not installing LinkedIn's app, Microsoft said.

“The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of LinkedIn by Microsoft,” the commission said.

Microsoft’s $US26 billion ($34 billion) acquisition of LinkedIn was announced in June, the biggest-ever deal for a social media company.

“Today’s decision ensures that Europeans will continue to enjoy a freedom of choice between professional social networks,” EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said.

Microsoft has been promising that the deal will close by the end of the year. However, Microsoft rival Salesforce has been contesting the deal.

Salesforce was concerned that Microsoft was going to block its competitors from accessing LinkedIn's data, a treasure trove of information that all sorts of people use for their jobs. Salespeople especially use LinkedIn for cold calling and if Microsoft blocks others from using that data, it will be a huge competitive advantage for Microsoft.

Microsoft submitted its LinkedIn acquisition for EU regulatory approval in October, after already receiving approval from authorities in the US, Canada and Brazil.