Google, LinkedIn Put Aside Real Estate Rivalry to Swap Property in Silicon Valley

A blockbuster property swap, involving 3.4 million square feet, is taking place in Silicon Valley between tech giants Google and LinkedIn. According to the Silicon Valley Business Journal, it’s a massive move that benefits both parties.

Quoth SVBJ:

It will give Google control over critical puzzle pieces in North Bayshore, providing a path forward for the search giant’s futuristic vision there as LinkedIn departs the Google-heavy North Bayshore business district. At the same time, LinkedIn will gain property — elsewhere in Mountain View and in Sunnyvale — that allows it to build out a cohesive corporate campus years earlier than anticipated under previous plans for a costly planned mixed-use headquarters called Shoreline Commons.

“We spent a lot of time and energy on Shoreline Commons, but it was complicated by one single fact: That it was going to take five to six years to build,” Jim Morgensen, LinkedIn’s vice president for workplace, told the publication. “And that’s a long time for a tech company to have multiple, split campuses.”

As big as the deal is, no money is exchanging hands. This is extra surprising considering Google and LinkedIn have been at odds over real estate in the Valley for years.