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Verizon has sold Tumblr to Automattic just two years after acquiring it

Two years ago Verizon took ownership of Tumblr as part of its acquisition of Yahoo and those two years have been tumultuous.

Aside from the competition with other social networks, Tumblr also saw a mass exodus of users following a ban on pornography and other adult content.

Now Verizon is looking to sell the microblogging site and WordPress owner Automattic has made an offer.

Writing on his personal Tumblr page, Automattic chief executive officer Matt Mullenweg said that WordPress and Tumblr have had a good relationship since 2013.

“When the possibility to join forces became concrete, it felt like a once-in-a-generation opportunity to have two beloved platforms work alongside each other to build a better, more open, more inclusive – and, frankly, more fun web. I knew we had to do it,” said Mullenweg.

Tumblr’s CEO Jeff D’Onofrio tweeted out his excitement about working with Mullenweg adding that there is “much more to do to make your experience a better one.”

On that, Mullenweg outlined some of the plans Automattic has for Tumblr.

“In the underlying technology of our platforms, I think there are some good opportunities to standardize on the Open Source WordPress tech stack, but the front-end user experience on Tumblr will evolve on its own path. It has been so successful already, and we want to keep that going,” said Mullenweg.

The big question of course is whether Automattic will reverse the porn ban that was implemented last year. On this, The Guardian, reports Automattic will maintain the ban on adult content.

While the exact price of the deal has not been disclosed, rumours suggest Automattic acquired Tumblr for under $3 million. Of course this is not confirmed but if it happens to be true that’s a fraction of the $4.48 billion Verizon paid for Yahoo and its many parts.

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