California: Facebook is to buy mobile messaging service WhatsApp for $19bn in cash and shares. The landmark deal makes it the social networking giant’s biggest acquisition since buying Instagram in 2012 for $1bn.
Facebook said on Wednesday that it will be paying $12 billion in Facebook stock and $4 billion in cash for WhatsApp. In addition, the WhatsApp’s founders and employees — 55 in all — will be granted restricted stock worth $3 billion that will vest over four years after the deal closes.
WhatsApp, a messaging service for smartphones, lets users chat with their phone contacts, both one-on-one and in groups, allowing people to communicate worldwide at a cost of $1 per year with no ads. The app currently has 450m monthly active users, in comparison to Twitters 241m at the end of 2013.
In a statement announcing the deal, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg described WhatsApp’s services as “incredibly valuable”, and believes the app is on track to have a billion users.