Facebook Acquires WhatsApp for $16 Billion

Earlier today, Facebook announced that they will be acquiring mobile messaging startup WhatsApp for $16 billion.  Four billion of the acquisition will come in cash while approximately $12 billion will be paid out in Facebook shares.

The WhatsApp Messenger is a cross-platform mobile messaging app, available for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and Nokia, which allows users to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS.  The Santa Clara-based startup boasts more than 450 million active users, and as Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in the company's release, “WhatsApp is on a path to connect 1 billion people. The services that reach that milestone are all incredibly valuable.”

At the time of the acquisition the lone investment in WhatsApp came from Sequoia Capital, an $8M round back in 2009, lead by Jim Goetz.   The firm had the following to say via Twitter:

 

 

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When Zach Davis isn't getting lost in the mountains, he is hustling from Boulder, CO as Tech Cocktail's Director of Marketing. He is the author of Appalachian Trials, a book chronicling the mindset necessary for thru-hiking all 2,181 miles of the Appalachian Trail, a feat he accomplished in 2011. Zach is a green tea enthusiast, die-hard Chicago sports fan, and avid concert-goer. Follow Zach on Twitter: @zrdavis.
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