Which professional networking site went public in 2011?
Answer
LinkedIn went public in 2011.
The professional networking service was founded in December 2002 by Reid Hoffman and a team that included former PayPal and Socialnet.com colleagues. LinkedIn launched in May 2003, initially offering a digital way for professionals to display work histories, maintain business contacts, and find opportunities. Its focus on careers distinguished it from general-purpose social networks such as Facebook and MySpace.
LinkedIn filed for an initial public offering in January 2011. On May 19, 2011, its first shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LNKD. The offering price was $45 per share. The stock surged as much as 171% during its first trading day and closed at $94.25, making the debut a closely watched test of investor enthusiasm for social-media businesses.
The date is sometimes confused with LinkedIn’s later corporate history. Microsoft agreed to acquire LinkedIn in 2016 for approximately $26.2 billion, but that acquisition came five years after the IPO. LinkedIn remained a public company until the deal closed.