Salesforce also considered bidding for Linkedin - CNET

Microsoft wasn't the only company interested in buying LinkedIn; Salesforce was also interested in making a bid for the professional-networking site, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

Goldman Sachs Group advised Salesforce during the negotiation, sources described as familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. Ultimately, whatever overture Salesforce made or was considering wasn't enough to win the hearts at LinkedIn, which aounced a deal on Monday to sell itself to Microsoft for $26.2 billion in an all-cash deal.

Salesforce declined to comment on the report, opting instead to direct questions to a Recode interview with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff.

"We gave it a solid look," Benioff said of LinkedIn. "We are always looking to help our customers in new ways."

Salesforce, which competes with Microsoft in providing cloud-based software and services to businesses, was itself reportedly the target of a takeover bid by Microsoft last year. Microsoft offered as much as $55 billion, but Benioff was looking for something closer to $70 billion. according to CNBC.