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Facebook Buying Messaging App WhatsApp for $16 Billion

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Facebook 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.
Click to expand...
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.

Article Link: Facebook Buying Messaging App WhatsApp for $16 Billion
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/02/19/facebook-buying-whatsapp/
Rudy69

Rudy69

macrumors 6502a
Mar 30, 2009
790
2,415
In other news....I still don't understand why people use WhatsApp
 
M

mediotanque

macrumors member
Oct 31, 2013
58
23
Uruguay
Mark Zuckerberg quote

"I’m excited to announce that we’ve agreed to acquire WhatsApp and that their entire team will be joining us at Facebook.

Our mission is to make the world more open and connected. We do this by building services that help people share any type of content with any group of people they want. WhatsApp will help us do this by continuing to develop a service that people around the world love to use every day.

WhatsApp is a simple, fast and reliable mobile messaging service that is used by over 450 million people on every major mobile platform. More than 1 million people sign up for WhatsApp every day and it is on its way to connecting one billion people. More and more people rely on WhatsApp to communicate with all of their contacts every day.

WhatsApp will continue to operate independently within Facebook. The product roadmap will remain unchanged and the team is going to stay in Mountain View. Over the next few years, we're going to work hard to help WhatsApp grow and connect the whole world. We also expect that WhatsApp will add to our efforts forInternet.org, our partnership to make basic internet services affordable for everyone.

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.

WhatsApp had every option in the world, so I’m thrilled that they chose to work with us. I’m looking forward to what Facebook and WhatsApp can do together, and to developing great new mobile services that give people even more options for connecting.

I've also known Jan for a long time, and I know that we both share the vision of making the world more open and connected. I'm particularly happy that Jan has agreed to join the Facebook board and partner with me to shape Facebook's future as well as WhatsApp's.

Jan and the WhatsApp team have done some amazing work to connect almost half a billion people. I can’t wait for them to join Facebook and help us connect the rest of the world."
 
A

aajeevlin

macrumors 65816
Mar 25, 2010
1,427
715
Rudy69 said:
In other news....I still don't understand why people use WhatsApp
Click to expand...

What do you use? For international and cross platform messaging? Please don't say iMessage, because not everybody on this world as an iDevice. Don't get me wrong, I love iMessage, but only if Apple would open it up for cross platform, which I don't think they will.

On the other note, its funny because I just found out about this app called Telegram yesterday. Looks promising and they have desktop version as well. If the deal goes through it might be time to switch. I don't need Facebook to sniff through my messages...
 
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MarioG

macrumors newbie
Jan 28, 2014
21
17
Slovenia
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:
 
JaySoul

JaySoul

macrumors 68030
Jan 30, 2008
2,629
2,865
Apple messed up so royally by not buying WhatsApp years ago. Same goes for Google.

iMessage and Hangouts are vastly inferior.

Well played, Facebook.
 
dannys1

dannys1

macrumors 68040
Sep 19, 2007
3,647
6,742
UK
Ha ridiculous.

Whatsapp is the most popular messaging app though, but, like most things that are "most popular" its not the best or prettiest. Messageme is a lot nicer but barely used, even Kik is a bit better. Whatsapp are always about 4 months before everyone else with big iOS or iPhone changes too.
 
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MikhailT

macrumors 601
Nov 12, 2007
4,582
1,325
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.
 
X

xero9

macrumors 6502a
Nov 7, 2006
863
486
Well, now I'm glad I abandoned WhatsApp in favor of BBM.

Out of curiosity, does anyone remember how much they paid for Instagram? I remember it being a ridiculous amount at the time, which I think was like 2 billion. This is just insane.
 
LordQ

LordQ

Suspended
Sep 22, 2012
3,582
5,653
Great, just great... It was a good run and now I will have to delete it :(

I just hate Facebook.
 
M

mattymo

macrumors newbie
Oct 10, 2011
24
2
WI
MikhailT said:
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.
Click to expand...

I'm sure they'll miss you and everyone else "protesting"
 
SmileyBlast!

SmileyBlast!

macrumors 6502a
Mar 1, 2011
654
43
$16 Billion$

$16 Billion$ UnbelieveAmazeable!

Everyone is going to abandon it now.
Facebook Ads will be all over it.
 
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