The deal includes $4 billion in cash and approximately $12 billion worth of Facebook shares. There’s also the option for another $3 billion in restricted stock for WhatsApp founders and employees that will vest over four years after the deal closes. Facebook said Whatsapp will continue as a separate offering, much as Instagram has remained independent since it was acquired by Facebook in April 2012. The company will stay in Mountain View, while Jan Koum, WhatsApp co-founder and CEO,
will join Facebook’s board. “WhatsApp’s extremely high user engagement and rapid growth are driven by the simple, powerful and instantaneous messaging capabilities we provide. We’re excited and honored to partner with Mark and Facebook as we continue to bring our product to more people around the world,” Koum said in a statement. “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. “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.” In a blog post, Whatsapp said that “nothing” will change for customers. “WhatsApp will remain autonomous and operate independently. You can continue to enjoy the service for a nominal fee. You can continue to use WhatsApp no matter where in the world you are, or what smartphone you’re using,” the company continued. “And you can still count on absolutely no 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.” The acquisition comes two months after WhatsApp announced that it had 400 million monthly active users, a milestone it said no other mobile messaging service had reached. WhatsApp is available on Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Nokia S40, Symbian, and Windows Phone (slideshow above). The app, which is free for the first year and $0.99 per year thereafter, allows users to exchange messages without eating into monthly text allotments, like BBM or iMessage. The $16 billion figure, meanwhile, is a nice chunk of change, considering that the Instagram deal was worth a reported $1 billion. Recently, meanwhile, there were reports that Snapchat rejected a $3 billion offer from Facebook but given messaging app’s recent privacy snafus, it might now be wishing that it had accepted the social networking site’s deal. UPDATE: During a conference call with analysts, Zuckerberg said WhatsApp will help Facebook as it continues to transition to a more mobile-focused company. It’s an “extremely high-quality product” with strong engagement, he said, and does not get as much attention in the U.S. as it deserves. At this point, WhatsApp is the only widely used app that has more engagement than Facebook itself, Zuckerberg said. It’s at 450 million users and signing up 1 million people per day. It’s on its way to 1 billion users, and any Internet service that tops that milestone is extremely valuable, according to Zuckerberg, and going forward, WhatsApp will help Facebook toward its goal of connecting the world. - See more at: http://www.naijaloaded.com.ng/2014/02/20/facebook-buys-whatsapp-16b/#sthash.w0DasCOy.dpuf
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