Microsoft Corp agreed to buy LinkedIn Corp for $26.2 billion in its biggest-ever deal, combining the software giant's fast-growing cloud services business with the world's largest online network for professionals.
The offer of $196 per share represents a premium of 49.5 per cent to LinkedIn's Friday closing price.
LinkedIn's shares were jumped 48 per cent to $194.28 before the opening bell on Monday. Microsoft's shares were down 3.3 percent.
"Today is a re-founding moment for LinkedIn," Reid Hoffman, chairman of LinkedIn's board, said in a statement.
Jeff Weiner will remain chief executive of LinkedIn, reporting to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
"I have always had a great admiration for LinkedIn," Nadella said in a video on Microsoft's website. "I have been talking with Reid and Jeff for a while ... I have been thinking about this for a long time."
@Microsoft & @LinkedIn: world's leading professional cloud + world's leading professional network https://t.co/63V90F77Wj
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