After a weekend of rumors, it's official. In a press release issued Monday, Yahoo announced that it will acquire Tumblr for $1.1 billion in cash. Aware that Yahoo has not managed previous acquisitions, like that of photo-sharing site Flickr or web-hosting service GeoCities, very well, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Internet company promised "not to screw it up" this time around.
To preserve the quirkiness that Tumblr users fear will be lost with the acquisition, Tumblr will be "independently operated as a separate business," the press release stated, with 26-year-old David Karp remaining the popular blogging platform's CEO. "The product, service and brand will continue to be defined and developed separately with the same Tumblr irreverence, wit, and commitment to empower creators."
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer wrote a post on the Yahoo's Tumblr page (titled: "Tumblr. + Yahoo! = !!") in an attempt to assuage fears and prove how young and hip she is. At the top of the post is a big GIF that flashes "Yahoo," then "Tumblr" then "Now Panic And Freak Out" before finally landing on "Keep Calm And Carry On." Young people love GIFs, right?
Mayer goes on to say how exciting the deal is for both companies. Yahoo will get more content and visitors, and Yahoo can help Tumblr with search:
In terms of working together, Tumblr can deploy Yahoo!’s personalization technology and search infrastructure to help its users discover creators, bloggers, and content they’ll love. In turn, Tumblr brings 50 billion blog posts (and 75 million more arriving each day) to Yahoo!’s media network and search experiences. The two companies will also work together to create advertising opportunities that are seamless and enhance user experience.
Tumblr founder and CEO David Karp also made a celebratory post, explaining to Tumblr users that nothing about their beloved site will change. The newly minted centimillionaire signed the post, "Fuck yeah, David."
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.
Karp explains that Yahoo will enable Tumblr to "get better faster." Plus, he writes, the "both our logos end with punctuation!" Remember, everyone, it's technically Yahoo! (ending in an exclamation point) and Tumblr. (ending in a period).