Professional networking site LinkedIn, has agreed to acquire SlideShare, a professional content presentation platform, for $118.75 million (approximately Rs 638.26 Crore). The transaction will be a combination of approximately 45% cash and around 55% in stock. The acquisition is expected to close during the second quarter of this year. LinkedIn has been working closely with Slideshare even before the acquisition: Slideshare was among the first applications on LinkedIn when the company opened up its API to third party developers. Launched in 2006, Slideshare lets users upload and share and embed presentation files online. SlideShare also allows users to upload and view presentations on its mobile optimized site. Its users have uploaded 9 million presentations and according to ComScore , it received 29 million unique visits for the month of March. SlideShare is headquartered in San Francisco, US, and most of its development and operations is being done in Delhi, India. LinkedIn recently announced its earnings for the first quarter of 2012, ended March 31. Its first quarter revenue was at $188.5 million up by 101% from $93.9 million Q1 2011. Its net income for Q1 2012 was at 5 million, more than double of its net income ($2.1 million) for the same quarter last year. What this acquisition means? Updated: With this acquisition LinkedIn plans to bring presentations by professionals under LinkedIn individual profile. This might help LinkedIn to provide user education, awards, skills, experience and presentations under one roof. Competitors Other professional presentation sharing sites like Scribd, Docstoc, and wePapers also offer professionals…
