Facebook Buying WhatsApp @ $19 Billion
Facebook is buying mobile messaging services WhatsApp for upto $19 Billion in cash and stock. This is the company's largest acquisition ever made. WhatsApp has more than 450 million monthly users and is popular with people looking to avoid text messaging charges.In a statement announcing the deal, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg described WhatsApp's services as "incredibly valuable".
Before talking about the deal, lets talk about WhatsApp. WhatsApp, a messaging service for smartphones, lets users chat with their phone contacts, both one-on-one and in groups. The service allows people to send texts, photos, videos and voice recordings over the Internet. It also lets users communicate with people overseas without incurring charges for pricey international texts and phone calls. It costs $1 per year and has no ads.
Talking about the acquisition, it includes $12 billion in Facebook stock and $4 billion in cash and $3 billion in restricted stock units granted to WhatsApp employees and its founders, which would vest over the next four years. It’s the largest Internet deal since Time Warner’s $124 billion merger with AOL in 2001, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. WhatsApp has more than 450 million members, with 1 million users being added daily.
The deal translates to roughly 9 percent of Facebook’s market value and is bigger than any acquisition made by Google, Apple or Microsoft. Google’s biggest deal, Motorola Mobility, stood at $12.5 billion, while Microsoft’s largest was Skype at $8.5 billion. Apple, meanwhile, hasn’t done a deal above $1 billion.
WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan Koum will join Facebook’s board of directors as part of the deal, but his team will remain stationed in Mountain View, California. Facebook taking WhatsApp, means now is it time to see WhatsApp in different look or with some more features? Can't say. Lets hope for the best.
Cheers!!!
Before talking about the deal, lets talk about WhatsApp. WhatsApp, a messaging service for smartphones, lets users chat with their phone contacts, both one-on-one and in groups. The service allows people to send texts, photos, videos and voice recordings over the Internet. It also lets users communicate with people overseas without incurring charges for pricey international texts and phone calls. It costs $1 per year and has no ads.
Talking about the acquisition, it includes $12 billion in Facebook stock and $4 billion in cash and $3 billion in restricted stock units granted to WhatsApp employees and its founders, which would vest over the next four years. It’s the largest Internet deal since Time Warner’s $124 billion merger with AOL in 2001, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. WhatsApp has more than 450 million members, with 1 million users being added daily.
The deal translates to roughly 9 percent of Facebook’s market value and is bigger than any acquisition made by Google, Apple or Microsoft. Google’s biggest deal, Motorola Mobility, stood at $12.5 billion, while Microsoft’s largest was Skype at $8.5 billion. Apple, meanwhile, hasn’t done a deal above $1 billion.
WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan Koum will join Facebook’s board of directors as part of the deal, but his team will remain stationed in Mountain View, California. Facebook taking WhatsApp, means now is it time to see WhatsApp in different look or with some more features? Can't say. Lets hope for the best.
Cheers!!!
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