LinkedIn to Delist from NYSE Dec. 19 (LNKD, MSFT)

With its $26.2 billion blockbuster acquisition by Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) – announced six months ago – officially closed on Thursday, not only is it time to say goodbye to LinkedIn Corporation (LNKD) as a standalone company, it's also time to bid farewell to its ticker LNKD.

In a regulatory filing Thursday, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) disclosed that it has notified the Securities and Exchange Commission of its intent to delist LinkedIn on Dec. 19. This means the NYSE will remove the entirety of LinkedIn's Class A common stock from listing and registration on the exchange. (See also: Microsoft, LinkedIn Deal Cleared by EU Regulators.)

"The merger between LinkedIn Corporation and a wholly owned direct subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation became effective on Dec. 8, 2016. Each share of Class A common stock was converted into $196.00 in cash, without interest and subject to any applicable withholding taxes," the filing stated. "The exchange also notifies the Securities and Exchange Commission that as a result of the above indicated conditions this security was suspended from trading on Dec. 8," the filing stated.

On Thursday, in a blog post detailing the closing of the merger, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella called it an exciting day, saying he's been waiting for this day since June. "It marks the close of the agreement for Microsoft to acquire LinkedIn and the beginning of our journey to bring together the world’s leading professional cloud and the world’s leading professional network." (See also: LinkedIn a Longtime Target of Microsoft?)

Largely seen as an admission by LinkedIn management that it has done all it can, now it's Microsoft's turn to carry the baton. Shares of LinkedIn traded for the final time on Wednesday, officially closing at $195.96. The stock, which a year ago traded at around $260 and was priced at $131 prior to Microsoft's offer, ended 2016 down 12.94%, compared with a 9.90% year-to-date rise in the S&P 500 (SPX) index.