$19 billion for WhatsApp, what a crazy world

Definitely, it’s a crazy world, after seeing that Facebook will pay $19 billion for buying WhatsApp. In the end it seems that the popular WhatsApp really had a price, it was just necessary to increase and increase to find it.

The purchase price is cut in the following way:

  • $4 billion in cash.
  • $12 billion in Facebook shares. Who cares?, it’s just paper in the end.
  • $3 billion in restricted stock units with a retention plan for WhatsApp’s founders and employees for four years.

After the acquisition of Instagram for $1 billion, this new purchase puts the new limits now, and it shows how important it is for a giant like Facebook to expand its power and control. Above all, to try to confront Google, who is in my opinion his real main competitor.

crecimiento de whatsApp respecto a su competencia

With this purchase one of its main investors, Sequoia, will multiply its investment by 200. A company that only has 32 engineers, with a ratio of 1 engineer to 14 million users. Processing 50 billion messages a day.

Further information and interesting news about this deal:

  • Facebook Buying WhatsApp For $19B, Will Keep The Messaging Service Independent. TechCrunch
  • Four Numbers That Explain Why Facebook Acquired WhatsApp. Sequoia Capital
  • Zuck Says Ads Aren’t The Way To Monetize Messaging, WhatsApp Will Prioritize Growth Not Subscriptions. TechCrunch

The images are from TechCrunch articles.

Original post in Spanish by David Carrero Fernández-Baíllo and translation by Dolores María Carrero Fernández-Baíllo.