"Automattic is still a startup — I’m sure there are deep-pocketed private equity firms that could have outbid us, but the most likely outcome then would have been an “asset” getting chopped up and sold for parts. [...] Instead, Tumblr has a new chance to redefine itself in 2019 and beyond."

I think Matt is right to point out the real story here. Automattic is simply the right home for Tumblr. Perhaps similarly to how SmugMug is the right home for Flickr.

Automattic is a company with a commitment to the open web and to effortless digital publishing. That was Tumblr's original vision, too, before it got lost in in the Yahoo/Oath/Verizon behemoth.

Automattic is a company with a long-term vision for what the open web means and how to monetize it so that valuable services can simplify lives for site operators, at scale. Just think of how many blogs and sites (and businesses) Automattic has enabled via WordPress.com, WooCommerce, etc. They can apply that same know-how to Tumblr's community, no matter how neglected it might have been in the Verizon era.

Verizon probably had no clue what to do with Tumblr as an asset, and I am sure they considered doing an orderly wind-down to focus on their core. This was a much classier alternative.

As Matt mentioned, Verizon does $130B in annual revenue. Tumblr was probably a strange distraction for them and had no chance of moving their KPIs as a business.

Automattic's acquisition of it was probably the best possible outcome, for Tumblr's technical & management team, for Tumblr's community, and, most importantly, for its future potential impact on site operators and independent web publishers everywhere.