Yammer Agrees To $1.2 Billion Sale To Microsoft

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

NPR's business news starts with a new owner for Yammer.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

GREENE: Yammer, the social networking company has agreed to sell itself to Microsoft for $1.2 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. Yammer is often called Facebook for the workplace. Co-workers can use it to share files, message one another and organize meetings and events.

Yammer and similar companies are relatively young and not as well-known as Facebook or Twitter, but recently, their values have risen dramatically. They're also seen as a potential threat to Microsoft, a pioneer in workplace software and so Microsoft is intercepting Yammer before it makes an initial public offering. It did the same thing with the video calling company Skype last May for $8.5 billion. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.