Microsoft to Acquire Yammer for $1.2 Billion

Posted on June 26, 2012

Microsoft has announced plans to acquire Yammer, a social networking service for corporations, for $1.2 billion in cash. 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.

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

Yammer has more than 5 million corporate users, including employees at 85 percent of the Fortune 500. Yammer offers both free and premium services. The premium services give Yammer a revenue stream that social networks like Facebook totally lack. Microsoft plans to offer Yammer's services alongside complementary offerings from Microsoft SharePoint, Office 365, Microsoft Dynamics and Skype.

Here's a video about Yammer from Imperial College London.