Yahoo Said to Pay $230 Million for Shopping Site Polyvore

SUNNYVALE, United States — Yahoo! Inc. is paying about $230 million for shopping service Polyvore Inc., people with knowledge of the matter said, as the Internet portal seeks new ways to draw in users and advertisers.

The deal, announced last week, includes about $40 million in retention payments, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information hasn’t been disclosed. Polyvore, which lets people put together collections of fashion goods on the Web, has been slightly profitable to break-even, the people said.

Marissa Mayer, Yahoo’s chief executive officer, has been seeking new ways to expand the company’s community of users and create marketing tools. Polyvore will be integrated into digital magazines that focus on beauty and style — and will provide advertising relationships with more than 350 retailers, Yahoo said.

Rebecca Neufeld, a spokeswoman for Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo, declined to comment on the purchase price.

The acquisition comes after Yahoo spent more than $900 million on acquisitions last year, including companies such as mobile-service Flurry and video-ad startup BrightRoll.

Polyvore lets users put together themed collections of items, like those seen in fashion magazines. People can browse through the collections and then buy the items. Backers include Goldman Sachs, DAG Ventures and Benchmark. The startup had raised $22 million before being acquired by Yahoo, according to Jess Lee, Polyvore’s co-founder.

By Brian Womack; editors: Jillian Ward, Reed Stevenson.