Verizon is set to sell Tumblr to Automattic for a sum reported by Axios to be "well below $20m", a fraction of the more-than $1bn Yahoo paid six years ago. The deal will see Yahoo's core blogging and publishing assets sold off in order to focus on its search business. In the past quarter, first-time users to Tumblr fell 33% YoY, according to Sensor Tower. Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg said the "iconic" web brand was an "essential venue".
Verizon is set to sell Tumblr to Automattic for a sum reported by Axios to be "well below $20m", a fraction of the more-than $1bn Yahoo paid six years ago. Tumblr has struggled to match the success of rivals such as Facebook and Reddit, while traffic slumped after the recent ban on porn. In the past quarter, first-time users to Tumblr fell 33% YoY, according to Sensor Tower. Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg said the "iconic" web brand was an "essential venue".