LinkedIn networking valued at $1bn

By Richard Waters in San Francisco

The biggest online social network intended for professional use has been valued at more than $1bn, putting it among a small group of private internet companies to have crossed that threshold before going public. Read original article.

LinkedIn, whose members use the site to do things such as making professional contacts, recruiting staff or finding new jobs, said it had raised $53m from a group of venture capitalists led by Bain Capital, taking the total raised to $80m in all.

Besides carrying job advertising, LinkedIn charges members a subscription for "premium" services that let them do things like make professional introductions through the network. It also has a "software as a service" business, charging a subscription to corporate recruiters to help them manage their hiring on the site.It will generate revenues of $75m-$100m this year, more than double 2007 .The latest investment, for about 5 per cent of the company, gives LinkedIn a "pre-money" valuation of $1.015bn

Dan Nye, chief executive.

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