And as its stock price climbed, the value of its offer grew as well, leading LinkedIn executives to press Microsoft for more money. Even after LinkedIn entered an arrangement to negotiate with Microsoft exclusively, Salesforce persisted on pushing its bid. That was a 50% premium over LinkedIn's stock price before the deal's announcement. The software giant(MSFT) ultimately agreed to buy LinkedIn (LNKD) last month for $26.2 billion, or $196 a share in cash. A Securities and Exchange Commission filing by LinkedIn on Friday disclosed that Microsoft submitted on May 4 a nonbinding indication of interest to acquire LinkedIn at $160 a share in cash.

Source: Wall Street Journal July 02, 2016 19:07 UTC