Yahoo finalises Tumblr acquisition for $1.1 billion
The web services giant has completed its acquisition of Tumblr, and emphasises the company will retain its independence under CEO David Karp.
Yahoo has announced the completion of its acquisition of Tumblr for ‘approximately $1.1 billion.’ Yahoo has stated that Tumblr will be operated independently, with its separate brand, product and service while David Karp will remain the CEO of the company.
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer stated that, “Tumblr is an incredible company. As promised, Tumblr will continue to operate as a separate business, led by David Karp as CEO,” wrote Mayer on Yahoo’s own Tumblr blog. “Their product roadmap, their team, and tone will all remain the same as will their mission to empower creators and curators alike to do what they love best: create.”
“We are beyond excited to partner with Marissa and the wonderful team at Yahoo! that we’ve already come to know well,” Karp said in regards to the deal’s completion. “Their support and belief in our vision gives us an opportunity now to be the most ambitious we’ve ever been.”
Yahoo plans to support Tumblr by creating advertising opportunities that “are seamless and enhance the user experience.” The company expects Tumblr to grow by 50 percent with more than 1 billion monthly visitors and grow traffic by at least 20%.
Currently, Tumblr has more than 50 million blog posts, with 300 million monthly unique visitors and 120,000 signups every day. Half of Tumblr’s users use mobile apps and do about 7 sessions per day.
The Tumblr acquisition was announced on May 20 by Marissa Mayer. Yahoo under Marissa Mayer has bought lots of small startups, like Ghostbird Software (photography apps), Stamped (social recommendations), Loki Studios (mobile games), Astrid (to-do lists), Jybe (more recommendations), and many more in 2013 alone.
Source: TNW