Facebook plonks Sofa in Web2.0 lounge

Facebook bought Netherlands start-up Sofa for an undisclosed sum yesterday.

The company, which in the past has developed Apple Mac software and design projects, announced the takeover on its blog.

Sofa will be shipped out from Amsterdam to Palo Alto, California in the next few weeks and said it would take its "particular flavour of Dutch culture" to Mark Zuckerberg's social network.

The outfit, which started life in 2006, said it was unable to resist Facebook's charm.

"We expected to keep working at Sofa forever. But after Facebook first made contact, we were quickly convinced to join forces," said Sofa.

"Facebook is full of talent and has a great culture. We feel challenged and at home at the same time, and can really get things done there. But equally important, we believe that at Facebook, we will be making a real difference to a lot of people’s lives."

Unsurprisingly, Facebook hasn't acquired Sofa's full kit 'n' kaboodle of Apple-flavoured products. Its Kaleidoscope and Versions software didn't form part of the buyout, said the Dutch firm. Instead those Mac developer tools will be separate from Sofa.

The apps are temporarily unavailable in the Mac App Store, presumably while the Facebook acquisition rumbles on. Sofa said it was talking to Apple about this and hoped to make the tools available via Cupertino's online store soon.

"We’re also working with our joint venture partner to provide the smoothest transition and best possible future for Checkout, Enstore and their collective customers," it said.

The partner in question is Acclivity, which will sell and support the products from here on in. There was no mention in the statement, however, that the apps would get any further developer love.

Sofa will be folded into Facebook's design team, which presumably wants to prettify its offerings. ®