Yahoo buys social web browser RockMelt to bolster mobile

Yahoo Inc acquired social Web browser company Rockmelt, the latest move by the struggling Web portal to scoop up technology and engineering talent that could bolster its mobile and social networking efforts.

Terms of the deal announced on Friday weren't disclosed. It's the 20th acquisition that Yahoo Inc. has completed since Marissa Mayer became the Sunnyvale, California, company's CEO nearly 13 months ago.

Most of the purchases have been for relatively small amounts of money. There has been one notable exception so far: Yahoo's $1.1 billion acquisition of Intern blogging service Tumblr.

Rockmelt unveiled its Facebook-focused Web browser in late 2010, but it never gained traction. The Mountain View, California, startup later introduced a version designed for smartphones and tablets.

Yahoo will shut down the existing RockMelt product in 30 days and integrate the technology into Yahoo's media platform to "deliver content in new ways," a yahoo spokeswoman said.

Yahoo will get 32 RockMelt employees as part of the deal, including RockMelt CEO Eric Vishria , who will become Vice President of products for Yahoo's media properties and RockMelt CTO Tim Howes, who will become Vice President of engineering for Yahoo's mobile products, according to the source.