Yahoo Buys Social Web Browser Rockmelt

Social web browser Rockmelt will shut down its apps and web products at the end of the month after it became the latest company to be acquired in Yahoo’s recent spending spree.

No financial details of the acquisition have been revealed, but it is widely believed that Yahoo had paid in excess of $50 million for the company.

It is understood that a number of Rockmelt staff will join Yahoo as part of the deal, with the web browsing technology incorporated into the Internet giant’s existing products as it continues CEO Marissa Mayer’s focus on mobile.

Rockmelt acquisition

Although its services will close on 31 August, Rockmelt has promised users they will be able to export some of their data, with kept items saved as bookmarks and feeds transferred as an OPML file.

“Yahoo and Rockmelt share a common goal: To help people discover the best content from around the web,” said Rockmelt. “In our short four and a half years at Rockmelt, we’ve learned a lot about how you like to browse the web, discover content, and share the great stuff you’ve found.

“You’ve been right by our sides as we’ve celebrated successes, endured failures, and invented new ways of doing things. You’ve taught us a ton. And we plan to put everything we’ve learned to work at Yahoo.”

Yahoo has made a number of acquisitions since Mayer assumed control of the company last year, most notably social blogging platform Tumblr, which was bought for £725 million in May. More recently it acquired Video App Developer Qwiki, photography app developer GhostBird Software and conference calling start-up Rondee.

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