LinkedIn Does Another Deal, Buying Bizo

The social network for professionals made its second acquisition in as many weeks, agreeing to acquire the marketing firm Bizo for about $175 million.

Last week, LinkedIn bought Newsle, a startup that combs the web for relevant articles, for an undisclosed sum.

In Bizo, LinkedIn views a team and technology that lets business-to-business marketers source and track new leads. Founded in 2008 by a team that is still with the company, Bizo has developed its own technology that lets marketers identify new prospects and target them with relevant content.

"It's exciting for us to bring Bizo's expertise and technology into our ecosystem," Deep Nishar, LinkedIn's senior vice president for product and user experience, said in a statement. "Our ability to integrate their B2B solutions with our content marketing products will enable us to become the most effective platform for B2B marketers to engage professionals."

Bizo had raised $28.5 million in funding from investors including Venrock and Bessemer Venture Partners, according to CrunchBase. LinkedIn is paying for the deal with 90 percent cash and 10 percent stock.

"We have been a LinkedIn partner for a while now and it became clear that our respective missions and cultures are really well aligned," Russell Glass, Bizo's co-founder and chief executive, said in a statement. "I couldn't be more thrilled that we are coming together to accelerate our ability to reach professional audiences, nurture prospects, and acquire customers in truly powerful ways."

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