As LinkedIn expands past 200 million members, the company is apparently eyeing a purchase that would further build on its content offerings. According to AllThingsD, the company will soon buy news reader Pulse for somewhere between $50 and $100 million. Pulse, which launched in 2010 and recently expanded to include social and video feeds, is a popular alternative to social readers like Flipboard, and its apps and plugins could allow LinkedIn to showcase original articles or blog posts from "influencers" like Richard Branson. Pulse itself has previously partnered with Microsoft on a mobile web app, and it passed 20 million lifetime users late last year.

We don't yet know the terms of the deal, or what will happen to the core Pulse service if it's acquired. The potential deal was reported earlier today, with sources saying it could be announced later this week; Microsoft and Yahoo were also reportedly in talks to buy Pulse.