LinkedIn has acquired online education company Lynda.com in a deal worth $1.5 billion.
lynda.com is a leading online learning company that helps anyone learn business, technology and creative skills to achieve personal and professional goals.
The acquisition is a combination of 52 percent cash and 48 percent stock, and is expected to be closed in the second quarter of 2015.
“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,” said Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn.
“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.”
lynda.com was founded in 1995 by Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin.It is headquartered in Carpinteria, California with offices in San Francisco, London, Sydney and Graz and is funded in part by Accel Partners, Spectrum Equity, TPG Capital and Meritech Capital Partners.
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network on the Internet with more than 300 million members worldwide.
Recently LinkedIn has acquired a small startup called Refresh.