Entrepreneur and venture capitalist Reid Hoffman recently announced that he is stepping down from the Board of Directors at Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). Hoffman has been on the board for 10 years, since the company he co-founded was acquired. Here's a look at the stock performance for Microsoft since the acquisition.
Microsoft Stock Gains Top S&P 500
On June 13, Microsoft announced its then-largest acquisition ever with a $26.2 billion deal to acquire LinkedIn, a company co-founded by Hoffman.
The acquisition remains the second-largest in Microsoft’s history, topped only by the $69 billion paid to acquire video game giant Activision Blizzard.
The LinkedIn acquisition closed on Dec. 8, 2016, which is around the time Hoffman joined the Microsoft Board of Directors.
Microsoft stock traded as high as $61.58 on Dec. 8, 2016, not adjusted for dividends. Today the stock trades at $412.63.
That's a gain of 570.1% for Microsoft stock since the acquisition of LinkedIn closed.
Compare that to a 230.0% gain for the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY), which tracks the S&P 500.
Microsoft stock has outperformed the S&P 500 by more than double since it acquired LinkedIn.
Hoffman Moving On
Hoffman co-founded LinkedIn in 2003 and later became a managing partner at Greylock Partners.
The entrepreneur said he is stepping down from his involvement with Microsoft to put more time and effort into Manus, also known as Manas AI, an AI-powered drug discovery startup he co-founded.
"We're seeing such progress with Manus," Hoffman said on an episode of his "Possible" podcast. "I need to get back to founder mode."
The podcast episode featured Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
Image via Shutterstock/ Primakov
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