Verizon to sell Tumblr to WordPress parent firm

Verizon has agreed to sell its blogging platform Tumblr to the parent company of online publishing tool WordPress. Tumblr will act as a complementary site to WordPress after the acquisition.

Automattic Inc, the parent company of WordPress, will buy Tumblr and take on its 200 staff members for an undisclosed amount. Verizon, the current owner of Tumblr, had been searching a buyer for the social media platform since earlier this year.

Tumblr was once a hugely influential force in the blogging and social media sphere, but it becomes less so under Yahoo and then Verizon’s ownership. Meanwhile, platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube moved to fill the void and become much larger cultural forces as a result. Still, Tumblr does have a very active and dedicated community.

Verizon is in the process of revamping its media group, which struggled to meet revenue targets in recent years. The business, home to legacy Yahoo and AOL web properties such as HuffPost, TechCrunch, feminist media brand Makers and celebrity-interview site Build, is increasingly focused on subscription and original content.

Salesforce to acquire Tableau

Salesforce.com Inc. decided to buy big data firm Tableau Software Inc. for $15.3 Billion, marking the biggest acquisition in the company’s history as it looks to offer more data insights to it's clients.

Seattle-based Tableau has more than 86,000 customers, including tech heavyweights such as Verizon Communications Inc. and Netflix Inc. As part of the all-stock deal, Tableau shareholders will get 1.103 Salesforce shares, valuing the offer at $177.88 per share, representing a premium of 42% to Tableau's Friday closing price.

Salesforce deal comes days after Alphabet Inc. Google bought big-data analytics company Looker for $2.6 billion and surpasses the $5.9 billion that the cloud-based software company paid to buy U.S. software maker MuleSoft in 2018.

Big data analytics is a complex process used to uncover hidden patterns, unknown correlations; market trends and customer preferences that often help companies make better business decisions. The San Francisco-based company said the deal is likely to add up to $400 million in its 2020 revenue, but would decrease adjusted profit by about 37 cents to 39 cents per share.

Verizon buys Yahoo

After a month long bidding process and many layoffs, Yahoo has finally found a buyer. Verizon (which owns AOL, which owns TechCrunch) is officially acquiring Yahoo core business for $4.83 Billion in cash, which includes Yahoo advertising, content, search and mobile activities.

The purchase will boost Verizon AOL Internet business, which it bought last year for $4.4 Billion as it gains access to Yahoo’s ad technology tools, BrightRoll and Flurry and search, mail and messenger assets. Verizon, the No 1 U.S. wireless operator, has in recent years looked to mobile video and advertising for new sources of revenue in an over saturated wireless market. It has also scaled back on its Fios TV and internet service.

Verizon could combine data from AOL and Yahoo users in addition to its more than 100 Million wireless customers to create data to help advertisers specifically target users based on online behavior and preferences. Yahoo will continue as an independent company until the deal receives shareholder and regulatory.

The sale doesn’t include Yahoo’s cash, its shares in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, shares in Yahoo Japan, Yahoo convertible notes, certain minority investments or Yahoo non-core patents. Verizon prevailed over rival bidders for Yahoo, including AT&T Inc. and private equity firm TPG Capital Management LP.

Verizon to buy AOL

Verizon Communications is an American broadband and telecommunications company. It was founded as Bell Atlantic and it is the largest US Wireless communication service provider. AOL is an American multinational mass media corporation which develops, grows and invests in brands and websites. The company business spans digital distribution of content, products, and services, which it offers to consumers, publishers, and advertisers.

Recently, Verizon Communication said, it would buy AOL Inc. in a deal valued at about $4.4 Billion to gain access to AOL digital advertising service and content. The deal will see king of mobile phones acquire the one time king of media. Verizon is the largest phone operator in the country, and has growing lines of business offering high speed Internet, as well as business and streaming video services.

But in acquiring AOL, Verizon is buying much more than websites that host streaming content. Along with its video and online advertising technology, AOL owns the Huffington Post, a sprawling collection of international new websites with growing traffic. It also manages a dwindling but profitable dial up Internet business, providing online access for those who live in areas too remote to have broadband or who never canceled their subscriptions.

Verizon with more than 1.5 Billion connected devices has a vast network through which to distribute mobile content. It has been quietly building up its entertainment offerings, but until now has not made any significant acquisitions to bolster its offerings. 

Google to buy Softcard

Google is reportedly is in talks to purchase Softcard, a mobile payments service in direct competition with Apple Pay, sparkling speculation the company may be readying itself to take on the consumer electronics giant. If the deal pushes through, Google will be paired with the biggest carriers in the United States in its bid to challenge the Apple Pay service in the burgeoning mobile payments industry.

Softcard is owned by AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and T-Mobile USA, but is currently searching for a buyer after making more than 60 employees redundant. Google offered $50 Million for the company, while PayPal and Microsoft have also reportedly expressed interest. Google Mobile payment service, Wallet was somewhat ahead of curve but has not made the impact the company may have hoped after key telecommunications companies, such as Verizon.

Softcard is taking steps to reduce costs and strengthen its business. This includes simplifying the company organizational structure and consolidating all operations into its Dallas and New York offices, which involves across the company. According to reports, Apple Pay could arrive in the UK in the first half of 2015, after the service US release back in the October 2014.

Google original vision for Wallet included a closed loop advertising system that would use purchases in physical stores to improve the targeting of digital ads. The plan was to share some of this ad revenue with the wireless carriers, but the companies could not agree on how to do that. A Google acquisition of Softcard could revive these types of advertising deals and put Google and the telecom companies in a better position to compete with Apple Pay.