US-listed software provider Microsoft has agreed to buy corporate venturing-backed business network Yammer for $1.2bn.
Four-year-old Yammer, which has five million users of its private, in-company social networks, will become part of Microsoft’s Office unit under Kurt DelBene but will still be led by current chief executive and founder, David Sacks. Yammer has added about one million users since December.
Yammer has raised more than $142m from media group AOL’s CrunchFund; venture capital firms Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Meritech Capital Partners, Khosla Ventures, Capricorn Venture Partners, Charles River Ventures, Emergence Capital Partners, Goldcrest Investments, US Venture Partners, Social+Capital Partnership; and angel investors Ron Conway, Ronnie Lott, Max Levchin, Keith Rabois and Chamath Palihapitiya. Earlier this year, Yammer raised $85m at a reported $500m to $600m valuation.