雅虎收购“阅后即焚”类应用程序Blink

    雅虎收购狂奔还在继续。最近，它又收购了手机短信应用程序Blink。Blink是热门“阅后即焚”应用程序Snapchat的竞争对手，这家初创企业在自己的网站上宣布了这项收购交易。

    Blink这款应用程序允许用户上传的图片在特定的时间内自动销毁，它的收购金额并未透露。这家公司由曾经效力于谷歌的凯文•斯蒂芬斯和米歇尔•诺根创办。收购完成之后，Blink将从iOS和安卓应用程序商店下架，所有员工都将会进入雅虎。

    Snapchat这样的手机短信应用程序正逐渐开始热门，最近也成为大型科技收购的目标。最近刚刚结束与美国监管机构官司的Snapchat公司去年拒绝了Facebook公司出价30亿美元的收购要约。随后，Facebook转而耗资190亿美元收购了Whatsapp，这也成了这家公司历史上最大的一笔收购。

    收购Blink玛丽莎•梅耶尔出任雅虎这家市值355亿美元公司首席执行官以来的第38笔收购交易。雅虎迄今最大的一笔交易是出资11亿美元收购轻博客网站Tumblr。

    梅耶尔一向善于运用收购来为雅虎吸收、壮大人才，也就是所谓的“人才收购”（acqui-hires）。梅耶尔曾经在最近的第一季度季报电话会议上回顾，她在重振雅虎的道路上通过收购Snip.it和Summly等公司获得了开发新产品所需的知识和技能。

    “举例来说，Alike和Summly团队打造了新闻摘注（News Digest）产品，”梅耶尔说。“而Rockmelt、Snip.it以及Tumblr团队携手创建了电子杂志平台。Xobni团队将他们的技术与我们的用户数据相结合，提高了雅虎邮箱的智能化程度。”

    梅耶尔还谈到，来自Distill和Bread的团队为雅虎新开发了广告营销产品、PlayerScale为公司打造了游戏平台。而这一次，梅耶尔似乎要利用Blink的员工来提升雅虎即时通（Yahoo Messenger）的竞争力，与Facebook和Snapchat一争高下。（财富中文网）

    译者：唐昕昕

    Yahoo has extended its recent buying spree by snapping up mobile messaging app Blink, considered a rival to popular message-deleting app Snapchat. The deal was announced on the startup's website.

    Blink, which lets users send messages that self-destruct within a specified timeframe, was purchased for an undisclosed sum. The app, which which was founded by ex-Google employees Kevin Stephens and Michelle Norgan, will shut down its iOS and Android apps after the takeover and the staff will be absorbed into Yahoo.

    Mobile messaging apps like Snapchat have gained in popularity and recently have been the target of big-tech deals. Snapchat, which recently settled charges levied by U.S. regulators, turned down a $3 billion offer from Facebook last year. Facebook then went on to buy Whatsapp for $19 billion in its biggest acquisition ever.

    The deal represents the 38th purchase completed by Yahoo's CEO Marissa Mayer since she took over as chief executive of the $35.5 billion company. The biggest was her $1.1 billion purchase of blogging site Tumblr.

    Mayer has a history of using acquisitions to beef up Yahoo's development pipeline, so-called acqui-hires. In the recent first quarter earnings call, Mayer reviewed how recent buys like Snip.it and Summly have provided the expertise needed to build out new products in her effort to turn around the tech giant.

    "The Alike and Summly teams for example build News Digest," Mayer said. "The teams from Rockmelt, Snip.it and Tumblr came together to develop the digital magazines platform. The Xobni team utilized their technology and our user's data to bring smarter contacts to Yahoo! Mail."

    Mayer also called out teams from Distill and Bread, which added to Yahoo's advertising offerings, and PlayerScale, which added to the company's gaming platform. It's likely Mayer will use Blink's staff to expand Yahoo Messenger to compete with the likes of Facebook and Snapchat.