Automattic buys Tumblr from Verizon for reportedly less than $20 million

WordPress.com owner Automattic is picking up Tumblr from Verizon, for a reported price of less than $20 million, a sharp decline in Tumblr's value since Yahoo bought it for $1.1 billion.

Rich Woods former Senior Editor for North America Neowin @TheRichWoods · Aug 12, 2019 18:26 EDT · Hot! with 18 comments

Today, Verizon announced that it's selling off Tumblr to Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com. Verizon didn't disclose the terms of the deal, but according to Axios, Automattic picked it up for "well below" $20 million.

"Tumblr is one of the Web’s most iconic brands," said Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg. "It is an essential venue to share new ideas, cultures and experiences, helping millions create and build communities around their shared interests. We are excited to add it to our lineup, which already includes WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Jetpack, Simplenote, Longreads, and more."

Verizon purchased Yahoo and all of its assets back in 2017 for under $5 billion, and Yahoo had purchased Tumblr in 2013 for $1.1 billion. Clearly, Tumblr's value has steeply declined.

Reports of Verizon wanting to offload the blogging service started back in May, with PornHub being the company showing interest since Tumblr had become known for its adult content. PornHub had said at the time that it would want to restore all of that NSFW content.

Obviously, with the purchase by Automattic, that won't be happening.