Recently, LinkedIn announced its acquisition of the B2B marketing company Bizo (purchased for $175 million). Formerly a LinkedIn partner, Bizo focuses on the sales of cutting-edge B2B marketing tools, including social advertising, targeted display advertising, retargeted marketing, multi-channel tools, and performance analytics. The deal is expected to close during the third quarter of this year. Bizo had formerly been a LinkedIn partner for some time.

Management executives from both companies are lauding the mutual benefits of the deal. Bizo CEO Russell Glass commented on the company blog that the respective missions of both companies are well aligned and that combining forces will help both entities to move ahead. He elaborates: “The combination of LinkedIn and Bizo greatly increases our ability to be the most effective platform for B2B marketers to reach their audiences, nurture prospects and acquire customers.”

Vice President of Product at LinkedIn, David Thacker, commented on the LinkedIn blog that the company hopes to use the Bizo acquisition in such a way as to build a robust B2B marketing platform. He explains that the tools offered by Bizo enable marketers to reach professional audiences much more effectively, thereby expanding prospects and acquiring new customers. In a prepared statement, LinkedIn’s Deep Nishar (Senior Vice President of Product and User Experience) concurs: “Our ability to integrate their [Bizo’s] B2B solutions with our content marketing products will enable us to become the most effective platform for B2B markets to engage professionals.”

The LinkedIn acquisition of Bizo is only one of several similar recent moves the company has made in what appears to be an effort to develop its own Customer Relationship Management service. Earlier this month, LinkedIn acquired relationship management software developer Newsle, and early deals included the acquisition of Web-based professional contact manager Connected and contact management service Rapportive.

References:

Glass, Russell. “LinkedIn to Acquire Bizo.” Bizo Blog. 7/22/14.

Hessinger, Shawn. “LinkedIn Acquires Bizo for a Cool $175 Million.” Small Business Trends.

LinkedIn Press Center. “LinkedIn to Acquire Bizo.” 7/22/14.

Thacker, David. “Building a Robust B2B Marketing Platform through Bizo Acquisition.” LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Blog. 7/22/14.