Facebook buying Whatsapp for $16 Billion in Cash and Stock

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blkrb0t

blkrb0t

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Facebook is purchasing messaging giant WhatsApp for $16B in cash and stock, according to a regulatory filing. The deal is being cut for $12B in Facebook shares, $4B in cash and an additional $3B in RSUs for employee retention.

A termination fee is attached to the deal that would cost Facebook $1B in cash and $1B in shares if the deal fails to pass regulatory muster.

Facebook has posted on its blog, detailing the reasoning behind the acquisition as well. The post notes that WhatsApp will continue to operate independently and retain its brand. In addition,. WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan Koum will join Facebook’s board.

Facebook notes that WhatsApp has over 450M MAUs, with 70% of those active each day. In a staggering comparison, Facebook also notes that the messaging volume of WhatsApp approaches the SMS volume of the entire global telecom industry — and that it’s adding 1M users a day.

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

More to follow…
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http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/19/facebook-buying-whatsapp-for-16b-in-cash-and-stock-plus-3b-in-rsus

Source: http://newsroom.fb.com/News/805/Facebook-to-Acquire-WhatsApp

The moment I read this, all I could think of was WOW and WTF at the same time. Whatsapp was already on its way to become an ubiquitous platform for mobile messaging, and with Facebook losing out on getting Snapchat and its own mobile messaging platform, I think this is a fantastic deal. 450 million monthly active users does come at a price, in this case around $35 per user. Not a bad deal if you think of it from that point of view, but still, holy moly...:woot:
 

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I forgot to add this. Facebook will also be doling out $3 Billion in restricted stock units (RSUs), which brings the total deal to around $19 Billion. Crazy.
 
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:p https://v.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/FFE9...p4?versionId=WqYv8s80OWk3dlWv3BLwKHFL.3lM0vJT
I love this lol http://thenextweb.com/shareables/20...tsapp-co-founder-brian-acton-job-2009/#!wyKkd

I dunno about you guys but i dont like fb as much as i used to anymore. I have deactivated my acc. Whatsapp is so much better. I'm not surprised with the number of zeros involved. :D
Its said that Whatsapp will be independent but we are talking about Mark Zuckerberg here. I hope he will not screw it up. I agree with this guy completely:
 

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The amazing thing here is the value for the Whatsapp investors! There is only one and they are getting almost 3 billion return on their 6-8 million investment 3 years back.
 
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Facebook is just hogging whatever app is there in the market to stop competition, they know they cant survive with such competition, so just buyout all the others. Greedy cowards!
 
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avi said:
Facebook will be killing Whatsapp. Simple as that.
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They won't. If they do, this would mean $19 Billion down the drain.

This would ensure that Facebook keeps adding users to their vast database, who they can then sell to advertisers via targeted ads. Google does this all the time, but they build their own services to capture users (GMail, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Maps,etc...). Facebook had to buy the users because their attempts where failing miserably; as simple as that. If you can't succeed with innovation, just throw money to get the job done.
 
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avi said:
FTFY.
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NSA doesn't pay them anything. They just let them be for the information given. Kind of like mafia that allows any shop to do its business as long as the kickbacks keep coming. In this case it is information.
 
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Good for FB - buying out user base to target ads. They are surely on the collision course with Google in the near future by attacking Google's core strength. From a user POV though, if they are planning to integrate FB messaging and chat with WhatsApp, then the user might start looking elsewhere. :O
 
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iPwnz said:
exactly. that or "dont want ads? get the whatsapp plus/pro/whatever version" lol
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Exactly! "Pay just 0.99$ to get the full version. Full version has no ads, extra smileys and lots ... " That'd be their marketing BS ... :([DOUBLEPOST=1392886603][/DOUBLEPOST]I hope they don't make you to force login to Facebook to access your WhatsApp ... I don't even have a Facebook account ... :\
 
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blkrb0t said:
NSA doesn't pay them anything. They just let them be for the information given. Kind of like mafia that allows any shop to do its business as long as the kickbacks keep coming. In this case it is information.
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I think during the course of the leaks, it was revealed that the telecom companies got cash benefits for providing info/call logs.
 
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