Google has announced it has taken four-year-old social media marketing firm Wildfire into its fold by purchasing the start-up for $250 Million US, as the search giant appears to be upping its efforts to understand how businesses are moving in social media circles to market themselves.
Googler Jason Miller revealed the details of the acquisition in a Google blog.
Wildfire itself was co-founded by Victoria Ransom and Alain Chuard in 2008. They had been the owners of a New Zealand-based adventure travel company at the time. Wildfire now employs almost 400 people.
According to the start-up, it powers social media marketing for more than 16,000 businesses, including 30 of the top 50 global brands.
Its software platform has been integrated directly with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn since early 2012.
