Filing Details Microsoft And Salesforce's Bidding War For LinkedIn

LinkedIn released a regulatory filing, which it submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), detailing the events leading up to its decision to sell itself to Microsoft.

LinkedIn's regulatory filing appear to validate Recode's report last week that salesforce.com, inc. CRM presented a deal to acquire LinkedIn for the equivalent of $200 per share based on its own stock price. However, LinkedIn accepted Microsoft's straight up offer of $196 per share in cash.

The acquisition talks can be traced back to February 16 when LinkedIn's CEO Jeff Weiner met with Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella to discuss their ongoing relationship.

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On March 10, Weiner met with an executive of an un-named company, referred to as "Party A" in the filing — likely Salesforce. The meeting focused on both enhancing the already existing relationship and a potential acquisition of LinkedIn by Party A.

LinkedIn also held discussions with two other un-named companies, "Party C" and "Party D," but the discussions appear to have been brief with no formal offer presented.

A detailed day-to-day recap of the acquisition process can be seen here.

LinkedIn also agreed to a $725 million breakup fee if it were to back out of the deal with Microsoft.