Amidst speculation of a pending deal, Microsoft has reportedly bought Yammer, a business-focused social network, for $1.2 billion.
This deal would provide Microsoft extensive social-networking tools that it could integrate into existing products for its corporate customers. Yammer, which is used by more than 200,000 companies, provides a "freemium" private social network for internal corporate use similar to Facebook. The purchase of Yammer by Microsoft could potentially add additional functionality, such as file sharing and chat, to Microsoft Office, which generates more than half of Microsoft's annual operating income. Notably, Microsoft Office's SharePoint already features some of these capabilities, though they are not widely used in the corporate environment, unlike Yammer.
Neither party has yet to confirm the sale.
