Hasta La Gadget!

Hot on the heels of yesterday’s rumors, Yahoo and Tumblr have jointly announced a “definitive agreement” for the former to acquire the latter for $1.1 billion. The agreement makes it clear that Tumblr will be “independently operated as a separate business” with its own branding and line of development. A frankly worded press release says that this arms-length arrangement will help Yahoo “not to screw it up” and promises that the 300 million monthly visitors to the blogging site will continue to experience Tumblr’s “irreverence, wit, and commitment to empower creators.” If all this is to be believed, those who have allegedly fled to WordPress, for fear of Tumblr being shut down or re-versioned, may have slightly jumped the gun.

Filed under: Internet, Mobile

Comments

Source: yahoo.tumblr.com

This morning a deal between Yahoo and Tumblr has been approved according to sources familiar with the matter. This deal is said by people familiar with those speaking with the Wall Street Journal to have been approved by Yahoo’s board only at this time, and that Tumblr’s board is not yet at a final decision point. This deal has been reported after several days of rumors surrounding purchases by not just Yahoo, but other large-name web-based businesses as well.

This deal has been tipped at $1.1 billion in cash only, this marking a rather high point for a company acquisition – especially in an all-cash deal. Sources speaking on the subject have suggested that the deal was finalized by phone this Friday while the first announcement of said deal could be announced as early as Monday.

In acquiring Tumblr, it’s said that Yahoo will keep the social networking site largely the same as it is today as far as how independently it operates. It’s suggested, on the other hand, that advertisements may be incorporated on a much larger level than they are today, generating revenue for Tumblr and Yahoo at once.

Tumblr has been growing by leaps and bounds over the past few years, coming up especially in the smartphone and tablet world due to its scalability. Tumblr announced this past week during Google I/O 2013, the company’s yearly developer conference, that they’d be delivering an official app for the wearable device platform Google Glass.

When asked about the Yahoo deal, Tumblr representatives on-site at the Moscone Center this week during Google I/O 2013 made it clear that they were unable to comment on any rumors or possibilities. That said, Tumblr’s representation at the event was limited to developer relations, so it isn’t as if they’d have had any knowledge on the matter in the first place. We’ll likely hear more on the situation early this week!

Yahoo Tumblr acquisition reportedly approved in cash-only deal is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

That cat’s out of the bag a day early, it seems. Yahoo’s board has approved a $1.1 billion cash deal to purchase the blogging site Tumblr, according to The Wall Street Journal. We were expecting Yahoo to announce the acquisition during tomorrow’s NYC media event — CEO Marissa Mayer may instead use the last-minute gathering to detail the company’s plans for integrating the popular platform. It’s unclear how Yahoo intends to utilize its latest procurement, but with a 10-figure price tag now public, we can only imagine that Tumblr will be put to good use. We’ll be covering tomorrow afternoon’s event live, so stay tuned for more details from New York City.

Filed under: Internet

Comments

Source: Wall Street Journal (Twitter)

Call us crazy, but it sure feels like Yahoo’s had one heck of a spring. When it comes to spending, anyway. Just as soon as it can get one check to clear, the search icon is breaking the ink back out to write another. According to a breaking tweet from CNBC, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is scheduled to speak at a “product-related” event in New York City this coming Monday. It’s tough to tell what kind of surprise will be in store, but we wouldn’t be shocked if it involved the word “Tumblr.” We’re digging for more as we speak, and will most certainly be on hand to see what comes to fruition.

Update: We’ve just heard back from Yahoo, and the event is indeed going down in order to “share something special.” And yes, we’ll be there to bring whatever happens to your browser of choice.

Filed under: Internet

Comments

Source: CNBC (Twitter)

Yahoo is in talks to acquire Tumblr, with a potential deal worth as much as $1bn for the social blogging site, according to insider whispers. The acquisition would give Yahoo a vital footprint in the youth demographic the company currently lacks, sources tell AllThingsD and Adweek, in addition to giving a new outlet for brand advertising.

Tumblr has become the darling of the youth blog market, with its straightforward reblogging system and easy page customization making it both immediate and addictive. The site has found particular favor for those sharing photos and videos, with Tumblr claiming to have 107.8m blogs comprising 50.6bn posts.

However, the site has also struggled to manage the growing amount of adult content that is shared and re-shared, and has been criticized for relying on an opt-out policy for blogs with such themes to remove themselves from search results where underage users might see that content. Back in January, the official Tumblr app for iOS was updated with a 17+ age rating, in a move that was seen to be pre-emptively guarding against rejection from Apple over in-app content concerns.

Yahoo can apparently see beyond all that, the sources suggest, and the site’s fledgling use of advertising – predominantly inserting sponsored content into the main dashboard as users scroll through content from blogs they subscribe to – is also seen as promising. Last year, Tumblr suggested it expected to see advertising revenues in the order of $100m in 2013.

That could be the value Yahoo brings to the deal, wielding a much larger, established advertising team that could more thoroughly monetize Tumblr’s content. How that would sit with existing users is unclear at this stage; previous changes to the site have met with no small amount of resistance. Yahoo has a mixed track-record in how it handles acquisitions, too; its most recent three purchases were instantly shut down, something which could be a cause for concern for avid Tumblr users.

The Tumblr negotiations are described as “fluid” though at least one source suggested that a final agreement could be inked as soon as this weekend. That might not amount to a full acquisition, however; other possibilities include a close partnership between the two, as Yahoo attempts to duck under Tumblr’s “cool halo” and increase its userbase among the 18-24 demographic.

Yahoo eyeing Tumblr in $1bn grab for “cool” demographic insiders claim is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.