Yahoo has been on an acquisition spree for quite some time and the latest on the company's radar is micro-blogging network, Tumblr, if rumours are to be believed.
According to
AllThingsD Yahoo is mulling a strategic alliance and might invest or even completely acquire Tumblr in avid to attract younger audiences in the age group 18 to 24 to Yahoo. The website cites sources close to the talks to report that talks were on between the two, though it doesn't necessarily mean that they would conclude in the deal's favour. It also reports that after taking charge at Yahoo, CE) Marissa Mayer has been meeting Tumblr's top executives including its founder and CEO David Karp.
Another
report by AdWeek also confirms the same development and adds that the deal could be worth as much as $1 billion if it goes through. It also mentions citing another source that a deal could take place as soon as this weekend.
There have been reports that Tumblr is looking to raise money and has been valued at up to $1 billion in the recent past. It had last raised $85 million from Greylock Partners, Insight Venture Partners, Chernin Group, Sir Richard Branson, and existing investors Sequoia Capital, Spark Capital, and Union Square Ventures.
If the acquisition goes through, Tumblr will get access to Yahoo's resources including its ad sales team in addition to new users that flock Yahoo's services and content properties on the web. On the other hand Yahoo would have a service that's popular amongst the youth and even brands are eying it for promoting their offerings.
Yahoo's been on an acquisition spree after Mayer took charge. It recently
acquired cross-platform to-do app Astrid and mobile
news aggregator app Summly. It was also reportedly in talks to acquire video sharing site DailyMotion but talks broke down as the French government which has a stake in the service turned down the offer.
Tumblr is a social microblogging service that allows users to share photos, videos, links and other content. The service claims to house 107.8 million blogs with 50.6 billion posts and 175 employees, as of date. It was founded in February 2007.