Microsoft Corp. (NASD: MSFT) agreed to acquire LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD) in transaction valued at $26.2 billion, the companies announced today.

Microsoft and LinkedIn entered into a definitive agreement under which Microsoft will acquire LinkedIn for $196 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $26.2 billion, inclusive of LinkedIn’s net cash. LinkedIn will retain its brand, culture and independence, according to the companies. Jeff Weiner will remain CEO of LinkedIn, reporting to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

“This is a hugely interesting development and it will be fascinating to see how LinkedIn is able to harness Microsoft’s huge resources and capital to develop its talent solutions offerings,” said John Nurthen, Staffing Industry Analysts’ executive director, global research. “Microsoft is talking about reinventing talent management business processes through this deal so the workforce solutions ecosystem just got a whole lot more interesting.”

The deal is expected to close this calendar year, subject to approval by LinkedIn’s shareholders, the satisfaction of certain regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The companies said the transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both LinkedIn and Microsoft.

“The LinkedIn team has grown a fantastic business centered on connecting the world’s professionals,” Nadella said. “Together we can accelerate the growth of LinkedIn, as well as Microsoft Office 365 and Dynamics as we seek to empower every person and organization on the planet.”

“Just as we have changed the way the world connects to opportunity, this relationship with Microsoft, and the combination of their cloud and LinkedIn’s network, now gives us a chance to also change the way the world works,” Weiner said. “For the last 13 years, we’ve been uniquely positioned to connect professionals to make them more productive and successful, and I’m looking forward to leading our team through the next chapter of our story.”

Linkedin started to offer job advertisements two years after its launch in 2003. While it is often referred to as a social media site, the company actually ranks as the second-largest job board in the world by revenue and market capitalization, according to Staffing Industry Analysts’ Job Board Service Differentiators 2016 report. Recruit Holdings Co. — the Japanese staffing firm that owns Indeed, among others — heads the list.

LinkedIn reported $1.9 million in “talent solutions” revenue for 2015, according to Staffing Industry Analysts list of largest job boards globally.  LinkedIn has seen exponential growth in its revenue since 2005, when it started to charge for job listings and premium accounts, thereby enabling employers and staffing agencies to mine its extensive business database. Revenue in 2016 was 41% more than that of the prior year’s.

Over the past year, LinkedIn launched a new version of its mobile app,; enhanced the LinkedIn newsfeed to deliver better business insights, acquired online learning platform Lynda.com to enter a new market, and rolled out a new version of its Recruiter product to its enterprise customers. The company reports these innovations have contributed to the following year-over-year growth:

• Active job listings up 101% to more than 7 million
• Members worldwide up 19% to more than 433 million
• Unique visiting members per month up 0% to more than 105 million
• Mobile usage up from 49% to 60%
• Quarterly member page views up 34% to more than 45 billion

“The LinkedIn team has grown a fantastic business centered on connecting the world’s professionals,” Nadella said. “Together we can accelerate the growth of LinkedIn, as well as Microsoft Office 365 and Dynamics as we seek to empower every person and organization on the planet.”

Microsoft will finance the transaction primarily through the issuance of new indebtedness. Upon closing, Microsoft expects LinkedIn’s financials to be reported as part of its productivity and business processes segment.