Social networking giant Facebook has revealed that it has finalised a deal to purchase popular messaging application WhatsApp for $19bn (£11bn).
The news has taken many by surprise as it spreads across newsfeeds that Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, first pitched the idea of the acquisition just 11 days beforehand.
The app, designed for people to send messages via internet connections for a yearly $1 (60p) subscription fee rather than incurring regular text messaging costs, has around 450 million people registered as regular monthly users, with 70% of them using the app daily. In a statement released by Zuckerberg, the messaging system was described as “incredibly valuable” and being on course to “connect one billion people”.
In Facebook’s statement, the venture is aiming to speed up the site’s connectivity and usefulness. The announcement also clarifies that:
“WhatsApp’s core messaging product and Facebook’s existing Messenger app will continue to operate as standalone applications.”
The mobile messaging service will continue to function “independently and autonomously” according to Co-Founder and CEO Jan Koum, who as part of the deal will be elected onto the board of directors at Facebook. A further $3bn in restricted stock will also be given to all other founders and employees at WhatsApp.
This is not the first time Facebook has used its financial prowess to build up its growing portfolio and reputation. In 2012, it spent another $1bn (£599m) to buy Instagram which was, prior to the WhatsApp acquisition, its most high-profile purchase.
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[…] the perfect messaging platform to its users, and has accrued a lot of followers in these bids. The company bought WhatsApp at the beginning of 2014 for $19bn (£11bn). This app has more than one billion active monthly […]