Yahoo announced today that it has officially purchased the social media platform Tumblr for $1.1 billion. Rumors of Tumblr joining the Yahoo family began circulating last Thursday after an article published by All Things D leaked news of Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer meeting with Tumblr CEO David Karp to discuss the companies merging.
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer shared the big news on her personal Tumblr this morning stating: “I’m delighted to announce that we’ve reached an agreement to acquire Tumblr! We promise not to screw it up. Tumblr is incredibly special and has a great thing going. We will operate Tumblr independently. David Karp will remain CEO. The product roadmap, their team, their wit and irreverence will all remain the same as will their mission to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve.”
Since her time as CEO, Mayer has overseen the purchase of platforms such as Summly, Astrid, GoPollGo and now Tumblr, her largest personal deal at Yahoo. Tumblr hosts over 150 million blogs and sees over 900 posts every second. The addition of Tumblr’s user base could grow Yahoo’s audience by 50 percent to reach up to a billion unique views a month. But despite Yahoo’s new involvement, Tumblr will continue to run as an independent company under the leadership of the platform’s founder and CEO David Karp. Moving forward, the biggest change for both companies will involve Yahoo and Tumblr working together on advertising projects.
After news broke of the Yahoo and Tumblr deal becoming official, Karp took to Tumblr to reassure users that a relationship with Yahoo would only lead to better things for the social media platform. Karp writes:
“Before touching on how awesome this is, let me try to allay any concerns: We’re not turning purple. Our headquarters isn’t moving. Our team isn’t changing. Our roadmap isn’t changing. And our mission – to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve – certainly isn’t changing.”
In other Yahoo news:
Are We ‘Cool’ Yet? Yahoo Rumored To Be In Talks To Buy Tumblr for $1 Billion
Yahoo In Talks To Buy Hulu, Expand Its Online Video Presence
Yahoo Unveils New Original Programming, Partnerships With WWE & Conde Nast
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