In what is being seen as the largest acquisition of the year so far, Facebook has acquired WhatsApp for a whopping $19 billion. That number that is far more than the $1 billion the social network paid for Instagram, and nearly double the amount Microsoft paid for Skype. Before this, no one had predicted that a mere messaging app would grow to command a multibillion dollar valuation, but that has changed dramatically, and now we look forward to the future.
In its official announcement, Facebook said the company will pay $4 billion in cash and $12 billion dollars worth of Facebook shares for WhatsApp. Furthermore, there's an additional $3 billion in stocks that will find their way to WhatsApp founders, including Jan Koum, and employees.
"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."
The combined powers of Facebook and WhatsApp should be seen as a big deal, one that could change the messenger industry as we know it, if the acquisition should close before the end of the year. It could also mean good and bad things for WhatsApp users who are not interested in the change.
For example, WhatsApp does not show advertisements to its users, but this could change with Facebook at the helm of the operation. We're certain the social network would want to reclaim the money it spent on purchasing WhatsApp, and the best way to go about doing that, without charging users outright, is to show ads.
Furthermore, Facebook does not have a good track record when it comes to privacy. We cannot deny the fact that it is possible this culture might rub off on WhatsApp, which might push users to other competing platforms such as BBM, Viber or even Skype.
The one thing many WhatsApp users would be glad to know, is that, like Instagram, WhatsApp will perform as a separate entity outside of Facebook, which should mean that things might not dramatically change. You see, arguably the best thing about WhatsApp is the fact that it does not serve ads to users and if this type of business practice can continue throughout the foreseeable future, users might still feel comfortable knowing that Facebook is now pulling the strings.
As time goes by, we should have an idea what Facebook plans to do with WhatsApp. Don't be too surprised if the social network combines Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp as a single service.
