Yahoo! Acquires Tumblr in $1.1B Cash Deal

From rumor to reality in the space of a weekend: Yahoo! is now the proud owner of blogger favorite Tumblr, which will now be operated as an independent entity with a promise it won't be screwed up.

As first revealed by AllThingsD over the weekend, Yahoo! CEO Marissa Meyer announced Monday that the company has reached an agreement to acquire Tumblr in a deal valued at roughly $1.1 billion.

"We promise not to screw it up," Meyer writes in a blog about the deal. "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."

With 105 million blogs, 300 million monthly visitors and 120,000 signups per day, the acquisition of Tumblr certainly makes sense for former Google executive Meyer, although not everyone is thrilled with the news.

According to WordPress CEO Matt Mullenweg, the fast-spreading rumors reached a peak on Sunday night, when his company saw 72,000 defections from Tumblr to WordPress in a single hour -- a number that's usually in the range of 400 to 600 per hour.

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