Facebook buys Whatsapp in $16 bn deal

[shawl_who]

Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Facebook Inc., the world’s largest social network, agreed to acquire mobile-messaging application startup WhatsApp Inc. for $16 billion in cash and stock. :sp

The deal also includes $3 billion more in restricted stock for WhatsApp’s founders and staff that will vest over four years, Menlo Park, California-based Facebook said today in a statement. More than 450 million people use WhatsApp, with 1 million new registered users being added daily, Facebook said.

WhatsApp competes with Snapchat Inc., which rebuffed a $3 billion offer from Facebook last year, as well as services from Twitter Inc. and Kik Interactive Inc. WhatsApp’s users can send messages through the service over the Web for free, as opposed to traditional text messages, which consumers pay for through their mobile-phone plans.

“WhatsApp is on a path to connect 1 billion people,” Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said in the statement. “The services that reach that milestone are all incredibly valuable

Facebook said on Wednesday it will pay $4 billion in cash and about $12 billion in stock in its single largest acquisition, dwarfing the $1 billion it paid for photo-sharing app Instagram.

Shares in Facebook slid 5 percent to $64.70 after hours, from a close of $68.06 on the Nasdaq.

As part of the deal, WhatsApp co-founder and chief executive Jan Koum will join Facebook's board, and the social network will grant an additional $3 billion worth of restricted stock units to WhatsApp's founders, including Koum.

Also, Facebook promised to keep the WhatsApp brand and service, and pledged a $1 billion cash break-up fee were the deal to fall through.

Facebook was advised by Allen & Co, while WhatApp has enlisted Morgan Stanley for the deal.

Facebook to Buy Mobile Messaging App WhatsApp for Billion - The Washington Post

Facebook to buy mobile messaging app WhatsApp for billion - The Times of India

 

[Deep.S]

Good Update bro..

 

[me_saket]

So no more seperate mobile number for both apps

 

[ratedr]

Facebook Buys WhatsApp for $19 Billion

Today’s collective gasp at the frothy valuations and pace of mobile transformation in the Internet business comes courtesy of Facebook . The social network announced after the close of the market on Wednesday that it has acquired mobile messaging service WhatsApp for $19 billion.
As several commentators tweeted, reaching simultaneously for the low-hanging comedy fruit: “They should call it WTFapp.”
Yes, the price is $19 billion: $4 billion in cash, about $12 billion in Facebook stock, and $3 billion in restricted shares, to pay out to WhatsApp employees over the next four years. For a five-year-old company with 50 employees, that translates into $380 million per person—and a heck of a haul for the startup’s venture investors, led by Sequoia Capital. WhatsApp founder Jan Koum, a former Yahoo! employee, will join Facebook’s board of directors.
WhatsApp makes a popular smartphone application that allows users of various devices, such as iPhones, BlackBerrys, and phones running Android, to send texts and photographs seamlessly and without paying the additional fees carriers charge for SMS messages. (It’s free to use for the first year, then costs just a dollar a year.) According to Facebook, the service has 450 million active users on any given day and is on track to connect 1 billion people.
Facebook says that WhatsApp, like Instagram, will remain largely independent from the social network. The acquisition positions the company for even stronger growth on mobile phones, where advertising now makes up the majority of its revenue. It also strengthens its toehold in China: Facebook is blocked in the world’s largest Internet market; WhatsApp and Instagram are permitted to operate there.
In a conference call after the deal was announced, Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg called WhatsApp “an extremely high-quality product with incredibly strong engagement and rapid growth. It doesn’t get as much attention in the U.S. as it deserves because it started out growing in Europe, India, and Latin America.” He added: “It’s the only widely used app we’ve ever seen that has a higher rate of engagement than Facebook itself.”
Zuckerberg said the deal started to take shape on Feb. 9th, when he invited Koum to dinner and proposed that an acquisition could help both companies accelerate their growth and connect the world. Both said the deal came together quickly, with Zuckerberg adding that WhatsApp “is on a clear path to have a billion people using its product. Services in the world that have a billion people using them are all incredibly valuable.”
Koum, who founded the company with fellow Yahoo alum Brian Acton, said on the conference call that WhatsApp’s mission is “to make time mobile communication experiences simple, powerful, instantaneous, and commonplace. Our goal is to build a service that could be used by everyone … and a better alternative to SMS.”
Zuckerberg telegraphed his intentions to make these kinds of acquisitions during an interview in January for a Bloomberg Businessweek cover story. He revealed that he was pursuing a portfolio strategy, where apps could stand apart from the main social network and users would not be required to log in with their Facebook credentials.
“We just think that there are all these different ways that people want to share, and that compressing them all into a single blue app is not the right format of the future,” Zuckerberg said in January.
After which we opined: “In other words, the future of Facebook may not rest entirely on Facebook itself.”
Facebook Buys WhatsApp for $19 Billion


Source Facebook Buys WhatsApp for Billion - Businessweek

 

[Devesh]

Good update shwal bro

 

[NinadG]

$16 Billion good amount of money....

 

[DTH Fan]

How much in Indian currency?

 

[superdudebuddy]

Why Facebook is buying WhatsApp for a whopping $19bn

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook is betting huge on mobile with an eye-popping cash-and-stock deal worth up to $19 billion for Internet Age smartphone messaging service WhatsApp.

The surprise, mega-deal announced on Wednesday bolsters the world's biggest social network -- which has more than 1.2 billion members -- with the 450-million-strong WhatsApp, which will be operated independently with its own board.

Zuckerberg said that WhatsApp -- a cross-platform mobile app which allows users to exchange messages without having to pay telecom charges -- was worth the steep price because its blistering growth around the globe has it on a clear path to hit a billion users and beyond.

"Services with a billion people using them are all incredibly valuable," Zuckerberg said while discussing the purchase price during a conference call with analysts.

The deal came from a chat Zuckerberg had with WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum, whom he described as a "valuable thought partner" and friend of many years.

Facebook reportedly sought to acquire another hot messaging firm, Snapchat, for $3 billion last year. In 2012 Facebook closed its deal for Instagram, worth some $1 billion at the time based on stock value.


Read Full Here

 

[Basil]

Good update shawl_who bro

 

[NinadG]

How much in Indian currency?

Its approx Rs 99616 Crores....