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Facebook Buying Messaging App WhatsApp for $16 Billion

Wednesday February 19, 2014 2:16 pm PST by Jordan Golson
WhatsAppFacebook is buying the hugely popular WhatsApp for $16 billion according to a filing with the SEC. The purchase, $4 billion in cash plus $12 billion in Facebook shares and potential for an additional $3 billion in employee stock payouts, will see WhatsApp founder Jan Koum joining Facebook's board of directors.

WhatsApp Messenger is a hugely popular cross-platform messaging app that allows users to chat with individuals or groups, as well as sending files and pictures back and forth.

Back in December, the service bragged that it had 400 million active users, with 100 million of those added in the last four months of 2013. Back in April of 2013, it was rumored that Google was close to acquiring the company for $1 billion -- something WhatsApp denied. Today's sale price reflects the company's tremendous growth over the last several months.

According to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg:
WhatsApp will complement our existing chat and messaging services to provide new tools for our community. Facebook Messenger is widely used for chatting with your Facebook friends, and WhatsApp for communicating with all of your contacts and small groups of people. Since WhatsApp and Messenger serve such different and important uses, we will continue investing in both and making them each great products for everyone.
The service is one of many messaging services available on iOS and other mobile platforms, including Apple's own iMessage service integrated into iOS and OS X. Such services have become increasingly popular as users seek to avoid mobile carriers' SMS charges and expand their conversations to include devices not directly connected to cellular service. WhatsApp says that the Facebook and WhatsApp messaging apps will remain standalone for the foreseeable future, and WhatsApp will remain autonomous, operating independently of Facebook.

The company's app is currently the 35th most popular on the App Store. Facebook says WhatsApp's messaging volume is "approaching the entire global telecom SMS volume", roughly 7 trillion message a year. WhatsApp Messenger is a free download on the App Store. [Direct Link]

In April 2012, Facebook purchased Instagram for $1 billion.

[ 471 comments ]


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Rudy69
65 months ago
In other news....I still don't understand why people use WhatsApp
Rating: 82 Votes
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taptic
65 months ago
16 Billion?! Whats app with that?

(see what I did there?)
Rating: 62 Votes
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DarkWinter
65 months ago
...

Dammit Facebook - just go away.
Rating: 54 Votes
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captain cadet
65 months ago
Deleting whatsapp now - is it possible anymore NOT to use a Facebook service?
Rating: 37 Votes
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heehee
65 months ago

iMessage :apple:


Not everyone uses iPhone.
Rating: 33 Votes
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GFLPraxis
65 months ago
What is this, .com bubble 2.0?
Rating: 32 Votes
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applesith
65 months ago

Well, now I'm glad I abandoned WhatsApp in favor of BBM.


Whatsapp has 450 million users. BBM has like 45 users.
Rating: 29 Votes
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luckydcxx
65 months ago

Why not?

I use it everyday because of group chat.


iMessage :apple:
Rating: 27 Votes
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MikhailT
65 months ago
That's silly, there's no way it's worth $16 billion dollars.

In addition, the chat market is already too saturated with other equal or better competitors.

Now that WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, I'll be deleting my account. There's no way I want anything to be associated or owned by Facebook.
Rating: 20 Votes
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MarioG
65 months ago
The number of $$ is absurd :eek::eek::eek::eek: pure madness.
I have no idea why on earth somebody would even use whats app, viber & company, when you have imessage, normal sms and fb chat-which is also cross platform and makes this aqusition even dumber :confused::confused:
Rating: 17 Votes

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