Hey, everyone, now that Yahoo is going to acquire Tumblr for $1.1 billion in cash, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has a Tumblr blog. She wrote this morning, "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. Yahoo! will help Tumblr get even better, faster." She also posted this GIF:
Karp wrote a message to his staff, "Everyone, I’m elated to tell you that Tumblr will be joining Yahoo. 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." He emphasized the "better faster" part and signed off, "Fuck yeah, David."
There are a few more details in the press release, and the Wall Street Journal reports, "Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer's deal for Tumblr gives Yahoo, one of the original big Internet companies, a fast-growing Web service that could fill one of its many holes—namely, the lack of a thriving social-networking and communications hub. Tumblr is popular with many younger adults, in contrast with Yahoo's older customer base. Tumblr is also growing more quickly on smartphones than Yahoo."
However, the NY Times says, "Yet it is not clear how much Tumblr can help Yahoo reach its goals. The blogging site burned through an estimated $25 million in cash last year, and struggled to raise additional money at an acceptable valuation, according to people briefed on the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly about it. That prompted Mr. Karp to begin deal discussions with a number of companies, including Facebook, Microsoft and Google, though nothing came of those talks." Tumblr's 2012 revenue was $13 million last year, though it's set a $100 million revenue goal for 2013 (it's made $13 million in this first quarter).