The most popular cross platform messaging App is being acquired by the social giant Facebook. Facebook announced today it intends to buy the messaging App and integrate with its own redefined standalone messaging App.
WhatsApp is available on a host of platforms, including iOS and Android, and acts as an alternative SMS service. It’s likely that Facebook wants to integrate the app’s technology into Facebook’s own Messenger client, which recently gained SMS-style phone number-based.
From a press release below:
Acquisition accelerates Facebook’s ability to bring connectivity and utility to the world
Leading mobile messaging company will continue to operate independently and retain its brand
WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan Koum to join Facebook Board of Directors
MENLO PARK, CALIF. – February 19, 2014 – Facebook today announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire WhatsApp, a rapidly growing cross-platform mobile messaging company, for a total of approximately $16 billion, including $4 billion in cash and approximately $12 billion worth of Facebook shares. The agreement also provides for an additional $3 billion in restricted stock units to be granted to WhatsApp’s founders and employees that will vest over four years subsequent to closing.
WhatsApp has built a leading and rapidly growing real-time mobile messaging service, with:
Over 450 million people using the service each month;
70% of those people active on a given day;
Messaging volume approaching the entire global telecom SMS volume; and
Continued strong growth, currently adding more than 1 million new registered users per day.
Given that FB has a pretty solid solution when it comes to messaging as it is, I guess it’s more of a patent thing. I mean, developing the missing features and integrating them into that will cost them a heck of a lot less than $16b. I haven’t used WhatsApp for a while but back then I wasn’t particularly impressed from it.
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