Yahoo! Inc. has just signed a $1.1 billion acquisition deal with the popular blogging platform Tumblr Inc. David Karp, the 26 year-old CEO, who created Tumblr back in 2007, will remain at the helm of the company, and also gets to pocket $253 million in cash from the deal. He signed off his message announcing the Yahoo buy-out with “F**k Yeah”, a popular phrase at the young social media start-up, and an indication that he plans to keep the cheeky irreverence that the Tumblr brand has become synonymous with.
“Our headquarters isn’t moving. Our team isn’t changing. Our road map isn’t changing,” Karp insisted. “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, a Bronx High School drop-out who has still yet to receive his high school diploma, moved to Tokyo by himself at 17 and founded the company upon his return in 2007. It has since seen an explosion in popularity among teenagers and twenty-somethings.
For Yahoo the acquisition is the costliest it has made in years. The pressure is now on for the company’s CEO, Marissa Mayer, to successfully monetise Tumblr without pushing away its ardent fanbase, many of whom support Tumblr because of its alternative flavour and stance against intrusive advertising. Karp himself has been outspoken about his company’s dislike of internet advertising, saying: “it really turns our stomachs” in a 2010 interview. If a balance is struck it could see a new period of growth for Tumblr, which despite its popularity has yet to break even, let alone make a profit.
Yesterday after the announcement was made Yahoo’s stock rose by 0.2 percent to $26.58 per share.
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