Facebook is buying WhatsApp for $16 billion

Yupt · 19-02-2014, 10:17 PM

Facebook buys WhatsApp messaging service for $16 billion

Facebook has purchased hit networking app WhatsApp for $16 billion, in a deal that is said to help accelerate growth and user engagement across both companies.

The deal is made up of $4 billion in cash and $12 billion in stock, and will give Facebook access to the 450 million people using the WhatsApp service monthly. WhatsApp will also garner Facebook's huge amount of resources, including its large cash backing, numerous employees and engineers, and infrastructure to grow.

"WhatsApp is on a path to connect 1 billion people," Mark Zuckerburg, founder and CEO of Facebook, said. "The services that reach that milestone are all incredibly valuable. I've known Jan for a long time and I'm excited to partner with him and his team to make the world more open and connected."

"WhatsApp's extremely high user engagement and rapid growth are driven by the simple, powerful and instantaneous messaging capabilities we provide," Jan Koum, WhatsApp co-founder and CEO, said. "We're excited and honored to partner with Mark and Facebook as we continue to bring our product to more people around the world."

If for some reason the deal were to be canned and not go through, Facebook would have to pay WhatsApp a fee of $1 billion in cash.

Facebook will be holding a conference call at 6PM EST for more information.

dun dun dunnnnnn.

Aiden · 19-02-2014, 10:23 PM

Facebook should buy everything and make a huge empire. They should buy Tumblr and Twitter too but not tell anyone... then they can brain wash the whole internet!

xxMATTGxx · 19-02-2014, 10:29 PM

Facebook has entered into an agreement to purchase WhatsApp, the massively popular messaging client, for $16 billion in cash and stock. A document filed with the SEC today confirms the huge purchase. As was the case with Instagram, the company says WhatsApp will continue to operate independently after the acquisition — separate from Facebook Messenger — but claims the deal "accelerates Facebook’s ability to bring connectivity and utility to the world."

In a press release announcing the monumental buyout, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, "WhatsApp is on a path to connect 1 billion people. The services that reach that milestone are all incredibly valuable." He also shared news of the deal on his personal Facebook page, saying, "WhatsApp will complement our existing chat and messaging services to provide new tools for our community." Over 450 million people use WhatsApp each month, according to statistics in the press release, with 70 percent of those users active on a given day. 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.

"Doing this will give WhatsApp the flexibility to grow and expand, while giving me, Brian, and the rest of our team more time to focus on building a communications service that’s as fast, affordable and personal as possible," he said in a blog post. According to Kuam, users don't need to worry about ads "interrupting your communication." "There would have been no partnership between our two companies if we had to compromise on the core principles that will always define our company, our vision and our product," he said.

Source: http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/19/54...uying-whatsapp

Thoughts? Facebook being crazy

MKR&*42 · 19-02-2014, 10:30 PM

Mike beat you too it @xxMATTGxx;

http://www.habboxforum.com/showthread.php?t=796360

Yupt · 19-02-2014, 11:13 PM

in yo face mattg.

yes, yes.. what app, Facebook. stuff on topic. hmmmm.

xxMATTGxx · 19-02-2014, 11:45 PM

"@jonostrower: Just for a bit of perspective on Facebook and WhatsApp. You can buy 50 777X aircraft for $19 billion, which Qatar Airways did in November."

I know which one I would go for

peteyt · 20-02-2014, 01:03 AM

Would have prefered Whatsapp as it is. Too many big companies are buying little ones - it can help sometimes but sometimes it can stifle competition and ruin the programs