• Re/code, Tuesday, July 5, 2016 12 AM

It looks like LinkedIn had more suitors than was originally thought to be the case, according to a report in Recode which said Google and Facebook were also interested in the professional networking and education platform. Of course Microsoft was the ultimate victor: it acquired LinkedIn for $26 billion in June. A Securities and Exchange Commission document filed on June 30 revealed that as many as five possible buyers were interested in LinkedIn. "We knew that Salesforce was one of them, as CEO Marc Benioff confirmed to Recode. But a source familiar with the deal says that both Google and Facebook held meetings with LinkedIn executives to discuss the idea of a possible acquisition. The SEC filing does not list the other bidders, but instead refers to interested companies as Party A, Party B, Party C and Party D. We’re told that Party B is Google, and Party D is Facebook. Party A is Salesforce, and we were unable to identify Party C. A spokesperson for LinkedIn declined to comment, as did spokespeople for Facebook and Google," the Recode report said.

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