Yahoo Corp. has acquired the Flickr photo sharing Web site and Ludicorp Research and Development Ltd., the privately held Vancouver company that runs it, according to a posting on Flickr's staff blog. Both companies are yet to issue official statements concerning the deal.

The acquisition, the value of which was not revealed, was disclosed through the posting on Sunday and comes after several rounds of rumors that had placed the two in talks.

The posting was credited to Caterina Fake, Flickr's vice president of marketing and community. In it, Fake outlined a few benefits to users of the acquisition while also stressing that the Flickr service will continue its current course and not lose its identity.

Yahoo's existing photos hosting and sharing service, Yahoo Photos, will gain features from Flickr and the two services will remain separate "for the foreseeable future." Another change will be the ability to log into Flickr using a Yahoo ID and password. Users of the company's free and paid-for services will get more space and prices for professional accounts will fall, the posting said.

The current management team at Ludicorp will also remain in place, it said.