Microsoft still plans to get its hands on LinkedIn by the end of the year

Microsoft still believes its $26 billion acquisition of LinkedIn will go quickly and smoothly.

As part of its first-quarter, fiscal 2017 earnings announcement on Thursday, Microsoft said (emphasis ours):

"Microsoft expects to close the acquisition of LinkedIn Corporation and the sale of our entry-level feature phone business in the second quarter of fiscal year 2017, subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions."

Microsoft's second fiscal quarter is the the last three months of the calendar year.

Microsoft originally said it thought the deal would close by the end of this year. So the deal is on track with the original timeline.

Microsoft appears not at all worried that Salesforce's Marc Benioff, who has been talking to regulators to try and challenge the deal, will have an impact. Benioff is concerned that Microsoft will block access to LinkedIn's treasure trove of data, something Salesforce's customers rely on to find sales leads.

The deal has already been approved by regulators in the United States, Canada, and Brazil and Microsoft just submitted it to Europe. Word was that Benioff might have the European regulators ear on the matter.