Messaging app Snapchat has turned down an acquisition offer worth around $3bn (£1.86bn) from social giant Facebook.
One of the company’s founders is reported to have said no to the colossal cash offer, in the hope that the start-up will receive higher bids in the near future.
Being acquired by Facebook would have seen the messaging service hit a value of around $4bn (£2.5bn), but now, it is believed that a number of other investors and potential buyers have approached the two-year-old firm.
According to the Daily Mail, sources say that co-founder Evan Spiegel believes the app has the potential to greatly increase the size of its user base. Between June and September, the number of messages sent through the service each day reportedly grew from 200 million to 350 million – although the firm is yet to disclose exact figures.
Snapchat isn’t the only tech start-up to have turned down huge buyout offers; deal site Groupon passed on a $6bn offer from Google just three years ago. Social sites Twitter and Facebook have likewise turned back acquisitions in their earlier years.
While Snapchat’s current version doesn’t present internet marketing specialists with the same lucrative playing field as Twitter or Facebook, the messaging service does reflect the prevalent on-the-go attitude of today’s consumers, highlighting the need for brevity and speed in the services they use.
Pictures sent through Snapchat are only displayed to the recipient for a maximum of ten seconds, making it a truly ‘instant’ service in comparison with the other, more permanent social networks.
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