Yahoo Board Approves Tumblr Acquisition for US$1.1 Billion *UPDATED*
Rumors had been circulating that Yahoo might be about to make big waves soon. Now, it is all but certain that the Yahoo board has approved a US$1.1 billion acquisition for the popular micro-blogging site Tumblr.
**Updated on 21 Tues 2013 1010hrs** The deal has been confirmed and is expected to close in the second half of the quarter. In response to skepticism from Tumblr's users and fans, Yahoo has promised not to "screw it up" and CEO Marissa Mayer has also reiterated that Tumblr will be operated as a separate company, independent of Yahoo. David Karp will continue as Tumblr's CEO.
Originally reported on 20 Mon 2013
In a bid to jump back ito significance in today's digital landscape, Yahoo might be acquiring the popular micro-blogging site Tumblr. According to multiple sources, the Yahoo board has approved a US$1.1 billion all cash deal for the acquisition. There are no other bidders for Tumblr at present.
Founded in 2007, Tumblr has grown into one of the most popular sites on the internet. Last month alone it had more than 13 billion global page views. The site hosts approximately 108 million blogs and is frequented mostly by a young demographic. Recently Tumblr had also introduced priority ad placement for paying advertisers in a bid to move towards profitability.
The move seems to be right in line with CEO Marissa Mayer's vision for Yahoo since taking over about a year ago. In the past months, Yahoo has also acquired mobile news reader service Summly and there are rumors that Yahoo may also be looking to get its hands on video streaming service Hulu. Tumblr on the other hand focuses on user generated content. From the looks of it, Yahoo is spending big in all areas to catch up with Google and Facebook.
Source: Wall Street Journal via Bloomberg and All Things D
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