Microsoft now officially owns LinkedIn

Six months after news of the acquisition was released, Microsoft's takeover of the professional social network has closed.

The aim had been to complete the deal by the end of the year, and the two companies managed to hit the deadline after the European Commission gave it the go-ahead. The $26.2 billion acquisition is being billed as helping to accelerate the mission to "connect the world's professionals".

Despite the acquisition, things should remain unchanged at LinkedIn, at least to start with. But the site will ultimately start to integrate more of Microsoft's products and services such as Outlook, Windows 10's notification center, Office 365 and Active Directory.

Writing on the LinkedIn blog, CEO Jeff Weiner says:

Today, I'm pleased to share that we’ve officially closed Microsoft's acquisition of LinkedIn. This is a major milestone for the company, one that we believe will accelerate how we connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful.

For our members, the LinkedIn that you use to advance your career, find jobs, build your network and stay informed is only going to get better. We’re going to focus on how we leverage Microsoft's impressive scale and innovation to create more value for all of you.

As we build for the future, our commitment to our mission, vision, values and your experience remain unchanged. Our members still come first and creating economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce has never been more important.