LinkedIn Closes On Acquisition of Glint
November 21, 2018 – Social networking website LinkedIn has closed on its acquisition of Glint, the Redwood City, CA-based employment engagement platform.
The acquisition, which reportedly might have cost as much as $500 million, was announced last month. Glint produces software that helps businesses better understand how their teams are functioning and responding to their employer.
“Glint has an extensive customer base that uses it every day to help people accelerate their careers, and is loved and trusted by talent leaders,” said Daniel Shapero, LinkedIn’s vice president of talent solutions, careers & learning, in a post on the company’s website. “Glint’s mission to help people be happier and more successful at work aligns perfectly with LinkedIn’s mission to connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful.”
Exciting Possibilities
“We are excited about the possibilities that could come from the integration of Glint and what we can deliver together to advance the growth of Glint,” Mr. Shapero said. “The Glint team is one that understands that great companies are built by great teams, and great teams are fueled by a great culture. We couldn’t be happier that the talented team at Glint will be joining LinkedIn.”
Jim Barnett, Glint CEO, chairman and co-founder, will report to Mr. Shapero, and Glint will operate as a team within LinkedIn so that they can maintain and accelerate business momentum, LinkedIn said. All other Glint executives will continue to report to Mr. Barnett with the exception of HR, finance, information security and legal, which will join the functional teams at LinkedIn. The teams are expected to be functionally integrated within LinkedIn over the next year and a half.
On Glint’s website, Mr. Barnett expressed excitement about the acquisition. “Together, we will be taking a major step toward achieving our vision to create a world where people love their jobs,” he said. “We couldn’t be more thrilled with the partner we’ve decided to continue this journey with. Our insights into people success, along with LinkedIn’s insights into the broader workforce, will be a powerful combination that can help customers attract, develop, and retain the best talent.”
Boosting Engagement
“Beyond the synergies that exist between our products and goals, we’ve found a plethora of reasons to believe that LinkedIn is the right home for us,” said Mr. Barnett. “Our missions are incredibly well-aligned, focusing on helping people be more successful at work.”
LinkedIn has long sought to boost the engagement of its customers, especially businesses, according to TechCrunch. “Today some of LinkedIn’s revenue generating products include premium memberships, recruitment (Talent Solutions) and education, by way of Lynda.com,” said the technology industry news website. “Glint is another step ahead in that wider strategy to build out more services for those users, alongside existing services like education, CRM tools and, most recently, business intelligence.”
Acquisitions Continue to Make Headlines In Recruiting Industry
M&A activity among executive search firms has picked up in recent months, from the Far East to Canada, the Americas and across the U.K. & Europe. Here’s the latest deal among two U.S.-based recruitment providers.
Mr. Shapero said that he sees great potential in the acquisition. “As the head of talent and learning products at LinkedIn, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how we can help answer some of the toughest questions that keep HR leaders up at night,” he said. “How do I get visibility into the overall health and performance of my organization? Where do I find the new talent I need? Are the capabilities of my team aligned with what the business requires? And how can I ensure I attract, develop and retain the best talent to build winning teams? Consider these opportunities ahead. With LinkedIn’s insights into the larger workforce alongside Glint’s internal view into employee engagement and skills, we will be able to help talent leaders answer all those difficult questions.”
“We believe that Glint has uncovered a modern HR best practice that every company should do: regularly gather employee feedback on work, culture and leadership, and give leaders the tools they need to translate those insights into action,” he said.
Acquired by Microsoft
This is LinkedIn’s largest acquisition since the company itself was acquired by Microsoft for $26.2 billion two years ago. LinkedIn has nearly 600 million users.
Glint has upwards of 300 customers around the world. Its clients include United, Intuit, Glassdoor, Dropbox, and Commercial Bank of Dubai. In addition to its Redwood City headquarters, the company has offices in London and Lincoln, NE. Earlier this year, Glint was named to the Forbes 2018 Cloud 100, a listing of the top 100 private cloud companies in the world.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Andrew W. Mitchell, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
