WordPress Owner Is Buying Tumblr From Verizon
Written by SOURCE on August 13, 2019
Tumblr is being sold. More specifically, the microblogging/social network will go from Verizon to Automattic Inc., the owner of the blogging host WordPress.
In addition to occasionally housing posts from celebrities looking to reach out directly to fans (like Taylor Swift did via an open letter this past June) Tumblr also brings with it a passionate fan base. Last year, many people got big mad when the site switched to a ‘no porn policy’ that cracked down (at times too strictly) on quote unquote adult content. Prior to this December 2018 rebranding, porn had made up a sizable chunk of the site’s content.
The AP adds Tumblr had been facing intense competition from the likes of Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and especially Twitter. Axios reports a source as saying that the sale was below $20 million.
Automattic paid peanuts for Tumblr. Source familiar puts it well south of $20 million.
Reminder: Yahoo paid $1.1 billion for it.https://t.co/N63c5y3MEh
— Dan Primack (@danprimack) August 12, 2019
Verizon had acquired Tumblr after their 2017 purchase of Yahoo. Four years before that, Yahoo bought Tumblr for $1.1 billion, though that value was written down by nearly two-thirds.
