As per a recent report published at Bloomberg, Linkedin has been evaluated as $2 Billion company now. A recent move by Tiger Global Management LLC, a hedge fund, paid $20 Million to have control over 1% of Linkedin Corp, which made Linkedin such a high valued company.
The purchase, at $21.50 a share for about a 1 percent stake, was from existing shareholders and doesn’t represent new investment, said one of the people, who declined to be identified because the sale has not been disclosed. LinkedIn, based in Mountain View, California, is closely held.
Hedge funds, private-equity firms and mutual-fund companies, facing a dearth of initial public offerings, are taking bigger stakes in private technology companies to benefit when they go public. Tiger’s investment follows its December purchase of shares in Zynga Game Network Inc., another Internet company that like LinkedIn is a candidate for an IPO.
According to SharesPost Inc., an online marketplace for privately held companies, LinkedIn has 105 million shares outstanding. The purchase price of $21.50 a share values the company at $2.26 billion.
From the start of 2008 through June, there were 44 venture- backed IPOs, about half the number in 2007 alone, according to the National Venture Capital Association. Over that stretch, more than 800 startups were acquired, the group said.
LinkedIn has more than 70 million members across the globe out of which 14 million are from India. Linkedin users use the site to hunt for jobs, recruit employees and connect with industry experts. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Weiner said in an interview last month that LinkedIn is fielding inquiries from bankers interested in the company, without identifying which firms or saying whether an IPO is forthcoming.
In 2008, LinkedIn raised $76 million in funding from investors, including Bain Capital Ventures. The sum remains in the bank, Weiner said.
It would be interesting to see further moves of Linkedin as IPO is expected in coming future. But the big question here is Do you really think that Linkedin is worth $2 Billion ? Do let us know your views in comment section below.
