Pornhub has shelved plans to buy Tumblr.
The porn video platform’s VP Corey Price said in May that the company was “extremely interested” in purchasing the blog platform.
Now, Axios reports that Automattic Inc, the owner of online publishing tool WordPress, is instead buying the Verizon-owned site.
Sources familiar with the proposed Pornhub deal told Axios that the price-tag for Tumblr, which hosts more than 450 million blogs, was “well below” $20 million with another source placing it below even $10 million.
Price said in May that “Tumblr was a safe haven for those who wanted to explore and express their sexuality, adult entertainment aficionados included. We’ve long been dismayed that such measures were taken to eradicate erotic communities on the platform, leaving many individuals without an asylum through which they could comfortably peruse adult content.”
However, Automattic Inc’s Chief Executive Matt Mullenweg told The Wall Street Journal that he plans to maintain the ban.
Verizon acquired Yahoo and Tumblr in 2017. The company saw a steep decline in traffic in 2018 after imposing a pan on sexually explicit content. According to The Verge, Tumblr lost 30 per cent of its traffic since the ban was rolled out in mid-December.
“Tumblr is a marquee brand that has started movements, allowed for true identities to blossom and become home to many creative communities and fandoms,” Verizon Media CEO Guru Gowrappan said in a statement to The Verge in March.
“We are proud of what the team has accomplished and are happy to have found the perfect partner in Automattic, whose expertise and track record will unlock new and exciting possibilities for Tumblr and its users.”