Microsoft splashes out £770m on Yammer
Microsoft has splurged a cool £770m on the Yammer social network, whose claim to fame is enabling businesses to create their own social networks.
It has amassed a healthy 5m corporate users constituting some 85pc of Fortune 500 companies .
PayPal chief operating officer David Sacks founded the network in 2008 and will remain in charge of the operation going forward.
Yammer is the latest bid by Microsoft to bolster its social credentials following its bumper $8.5bn acquisition of Skype last year, it intends to integrate both with its Microsoft Office suite.
The service operates on a ‘freemium’ model with a basic free service augmented by a $5 per month premium version.
Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, said: “The acquisition of Yammer underscores our commitment to deliver technology that businesses need and people love.”