On June 15th, MMW reported that Microsoft was reportedly close to a deal that would enable the tech giant to acquire Yammer, operator of a social network for businesses.
On Tuesday, Microsoft and Yammer proved the rumor mill correct by announcing their definitive agreement under which Microsoft will acquire Yammer.
Microsoft will pay $1.2 billion in cash for Yammer, which will join the Microsoft Office Division.
“The acquisition of Yammer underscores our commitment to deliver technology that businesses need and people love,” said Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO. “Yammer adds a best-in-class enterprise social networking service to Microsoft’s growing portfolio of complementary cloud services.”
Launched in 2008, Yammer now has more than 5 million corporate users, including employees at 85 percent of the Fortune 500. The service allows employees to join a secure, private social network for free and then makes it easy for companies to convert a grassroots movement into company-wide strategic initiative.
Yammer will continue to develop its standalone service. Moving forward, the new partners confirm, Microsoft plans to accelerate Yammer’s adoption alongside complementary offerings from Microsoft SharePoint, Office 365, Microsoft Dynamics and Skype.
“When we started Yammer four years ago, we set out to do something big,” Yammer boss David Sacks says. “We had a vision for how social networking could change the way we work. Joining Microsoft will accelerate that vision and give us access to the technologies, expertise and resources we’ll need to scale and innovate.”
The acquisition is still subject to regulatory approval.