Former Microsoft CEO and now Technology Advisor Bill Gates recently appeared on an interview with Bloomberg TV, discussing Microsoft and its recent acquisition of professional social networking service LinkedIn.
Speaking with Erik Schatzker, Gates stated that he is very optimistic about the acquisition the Redmond giant recently made. "I think it’s a great transaction. LinkedIn brings in a lot," he said. "I know Reid Hoffman, Jeff Weiner, the team there have build an incredible audience so combined with what Microsoft does, working with people and productivity, helping professionals communicate. I think there will be a lot of synergies there so I was very encouraging as that deal came together and glad to see that it really happened."
Schatzker then brought up the stock market"s lukewarm reaction to the recent purchase. "I certainly think the value of the two companies combined is greater than the two by themselves but I love the idea that the market wants us to show that," stated Gates. He further shared:
"I mean, the company is expert in software and managing those audiences and it’s great that they now have the opportunity to surprise the world and say ‘Oh my God, look this feed, this professional feed in LinkedIn that is how I want to learn about, my career, my company, my industry and I’m going back there.’ If we can make that as, say, valuable as as the Facebook feed in the social world, that’s huge value creation and that’ll happen over a period of years."
Lastly, Gates was asked about the possible challenges that the company might face after the acquisition. "Microsoft like most tech companies has had deals that have gone better than others," Gates said. "I think we’ve got good preparation this one, and the nature of the synergy is pretty clear."
You can watch a portion of the interview by clicking on the source link below. The full video will be aired sometime around the week of June 27.
Source: Bloomberg via GeekWire | Screenshot via Bloomberg