In what Yahoo hopes to be a life-altering deal, the aging internet company acquired social media site Tumblr for $1.1 billion, affectively gaining the attention of millions of users that visit Tumblr monthly (that is, if they all don't jump ship first).

Purchase rumors began to swirl last week after the company's CFO Ken Goldman spoke of Yahoo's "aging demographic" and their need to be "cool" again. With the acquisition now official, Yahoo will suddenly be knee deep in the content-consuming, uber-engaged millennials that it craves, but the question is whether Tumblr's core users will stick around for fear that Yahoo will alter the blogging site—or whether advertisers and brands can handle the rough-and-tumble world of Tumblr.

However, CEO Marissa Mayer was quick to assure users (with her first Tumblr post, of course; she also launched her own Tumblr and showed a sense of humor over the "WFH" debate) that Yahoo would "not screw it up" and had no plans to tamper with the site or its crew. Mayer's post, in the copyright-flouting spirit of Tumblr, used an image that without first getting its creator's permission.

Founder David Karp—who is slated to become Forbes' youngest billionaire—will remain at the head of the company along with his team. According to Mayer, it seems the only major plans Yahoo has for Tumblr (besides not screwing it up) are more opportunities for native advertising (aka advertorials or sponsored content, which Karp & Co. have been testing in the wake of earlier stumbles) in addition to implementing Yahoo search on Tumblr to start mining all that juicy millennial user data.Continue reading...

As it explores new revenue streams and strategies to build out its web platform, Yahoo may be looking to invest in a platform that is sure to bring it plenty of the millennials it craves. 

According to a report by All Things D, sources close to Yahoo! have said that the company may be considering a "strategic investment in or outright buy" of social blogging mecca Tumblr. After all, the startup, which is valued around $800 million, is one of the most popular social platforms and has become increasingly a part of branding arsenals as companies take advantage of its photo-heavy community.

Update: The acquisition was approved by Yahoo's board on Sunday, and announced via a press release, David Karp's Tumblr post and Marissa Mayer's first Tumblr post on Monday morning. The tl;dr version: Yahoo promises to leave the Tumblr brand independent and "not screw it up," leaving Karp as CEO and its staff intact. Yahoo will get access to Tumblr's 300 million monthly unique visitors; Tumblr gets the backing to continue its product roadmap and Karp's vision.Continue reading...

After 21 years in business, Caribou Coffee is suddenly facing some very grownup decisions.

America's second-largest coffee chain announced that, as of April 14, it will be closing 80 of its locations and rebranding 88 outposts as Peet's Coffee & Tea over the next 18 months, according to a statement from President and CEO Mike Tattersfield.Continue reading...

After filing for bankruptcy protection in November and laying off its workers, Hostess has finally found buyers to pony up about $800 million for the majority of its baked goods brands.

According to Associated Press, a bankruptcy judge has approved the sale of Hostess Brands' iconic Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Ho Hos to two investment firms, Apollo Global Management and Pabst owner Metropoulos & Co., for $410 million. The judge also approved the sale of Hostess-owned Wonder Bread, Nature's Pride, Butternut, Home Pride and Merita bread brands to Tastykakes owner Flowers Foods, for $360M.

Beefsteak, a Hostess-owned regional bread brand, also was approved for a $31.9 million sale to Mexico's Grupo Bimbo, which surfaced early in the Hostess bankruptcy auction as a potential buyer and acquired Sara Lee's North American bakery business in 2010.Continue reading...

T-Mobile has been trying to find a dancing partner for some time now. Back in 2011, it came close to finding the perfect mate when it flirted with being bought by AT&T for $39 million only to have the whole thing shot down.

But things went their way Tuesday when the U.S. Department of Justice and the FCC approved a merger between Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile and MetroPCS, making the twosome into the fourth-largest wireless carrier in the States and ready to do battle with AT&T and Verizon Wireless, Nasdaq.com reports.

Fourth largest may sound pretty big, but its 42 million subscribers are about half of what each of the Big Two have, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.Continue reading...

Coca-Cola keeps moving forward with global consolidation as it swallows up the remaining stake of a juice brand in Europe and launches two new brand platforms in the Middle East.

In Europe, Coca-Cola is moving to acquire almost all of the 40 percent of Innocent Drinks that it didn't already own after raising its stake in stages beginning in 2009. Innocent makes smoothies, juices and other healthy foods and has been a rising better-for-you brand in Europe, building its brand equity on corporate "innocence."

Will Innocent and Coke face a European-consumer backlash over the brand's now-complete dependence on a well-known multinational company that some say isn't quite so innocent? After all, it's recently come under new criticism by Oxfam over allegely unethical practices.Continue reading...

Bid adieu to another legendary brand. The New York Times Company is rebranding its 125 year-old International Herald Tribune as The International New York Times as it strives to buttress its international presence. 

The change ends the 40-year-old IHT brand—which is perhaps most familiar to U.S. expats—and underscores the tectonic shifts in newspaper journalism and revenue streams wrought by digital and an increasingly competitive environment for readership.

Based in Paris, the rechristened paper will debut a new website this fall. “This recognizes our global reach and is an exciting and logical move,” said Jill Abramson, executive editor of the Times. 

Mark Thompson, president and CEO said in a statement there was “significant potential to grow the number of New York Times subscribers outside of the United States…The digital revolution has turned The New York Times from being a great American newspaper to becoming one of the world’s best-known news providers. We want to exploit that opportunity.”Continue reading...

One company announced the deal early, but the merger between Office Depot and OfficeMax has been a long time coming.

Office Depot jumped the gun by posting a draft press release about the deal on its web site early this morning; shortly after, the two companies confirmed that a deal was done. The still-to-be-approver merger will create an $18 billion global "office solutions" company whose combination is meant to help them survive the intensifying competition not only with archrival Staples but also with Amazon.com and other retailers that are increasingly peddling office supplies.

"In the past decade, with the growth of the internet, our industry has changed dramatically," Neil Austrian, CEO of Office Depot, said in a press release. "Combining our two companies will enhance our ability to serve customers around the world, offer new opportunities for our employees, make us a more attractive partner to our vendors, and increase stockholder value."Continue reading...