The board of Yahoo has approved a deal to buy blogging and social networking site Tumblr for $1.1bn in cash, according to a news report.
Tech blog AllThingsD reports that Marissa Mayer’s, Yahoo chief executive, is expected to make an announcement later on Monday at an event in Manhattan in which the company promised to “share something special,” without elaborating.
The Wall Street Journal-owned blog said the deal was a “foregone conclusion” and was unanimously voted for by the board, citing sources close to the matter.
The acquisition of Tumblr, a fast-growing platform popular with young users, would be Meyer’s largest deal since taking the helm of the once-iconic internet company in July 2012.
Mayer, who spent 13 years at Google, is trying to revitalise a former internet powerhouse that in recent years has struggled with declining business.
Yahoo declined to comment, while Tumblr did not respond to requests for information.
The deal comes after a recent failed attempt by Yahoo to buy a controlling stake in French video site Dailymotion, owned by France Telecom.
Tumblr, one of the more successful internet start-ups out of New York, has only just begun earning revenue through advertising.
On its home page, Tumblr says it hosts 108 million blogs, with 50.7 billion posts between them.
Watch this report from The Wall Street Journal looking at the possible deal:
