The Tumblr social network is sold to the owner of Wordpress, which is a blow for Verizon.
Terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but reports indicate that Tumblr was purchased for much less than the €1.1 billion Yahoo paid for it in 2013.
Tumblr was then part of Verizon's stable after its acquisition of Yahoo in 2017. Today's sale marks a significant decline in its value, with some reports calling the transaction as low as $3 million.
tumblr sale
Without a doubt, Automattic will see Tumblr as a key element in its desire to strengthen its online business. Although the site is unlikely to be profitable anytime soon, Tumblr still hosts more than 450 million blogs, which means it remains one of the largest of its kind on the Web. Web.
"Tumblr is a brand that has launched movements, allowed real identities to flourish and become home to many creative communities and fandoms," said Guru Verizon Gowrappan, CEO of Verizon Media.
"We are proud of what the team has accomplished and are pleased to have found the ideal partner in Automattic, whose experience and results will open up exciting new possibilities for Tumblr and its users." ".
Verizon had wanted to sell on Tumblr for some time, but Pornhub's adult site was the only declared bidder until Automattic expressed interest. Ironically, Tumblr suffered a huge backlash last year after Verizon announced it would ban adult content from the site, which would have led many users to boycott the site.
Automattic says it doesn't want to overturn the ban and that Tumblr will act as an "add-on" site for WordPress.
Automattic will target some 200 Tumblr employees as part of this deal. The company says it currently employs 940 people in 71 countries, including WooCommerce, Jetpack, Simplenote, and Longreads.
Via WSJ