Microsoft to Acquire Yammer For $1.2 Billion

(Newsroom America) -- Microsoft Corp. and Yammer Inc. say they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Microsoft will acquire Yammer, a leading provider of enterprise social networks, for $1.2 billion in cash.

Yammer (www.yammer.com) is a leading provider of enterprise social networks with over 5 million verified corporate users including employees of more than 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 companywide strategic initiative.

The basic version of Yammer is free, and customers can pay to upgrade their network to receive advanced administrative and security controls, integrations with enterprise applications, priority customer service and a designated customer success manager.

"The acquisition of Yammer underscores our commitment to deliver technology that businesses need and people love," said Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft. "Yammer adds a best-in-class enterprise social networking service to Microsoft's growing portfolio of complementary cloud services."

Yammer will continue to develop its standalone service and maintain its commitment to simplicity, innovation and cross-platform experiences. Moving forward, 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," said Yammer Founder and CEO David Sacks.

"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 subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.

Yammer will join the Microsoft Office Division, led by division President Kurt DelBene, and the team will continue to report to current CEO David Sacks.