Facebook-Whatsapp Deal: Little Known Facts

In a landmark deal, Facebook is buying most popular mobile-messaging platform WhatsApp. The WhatsApp deal is worth more than what Facebook raised in its own IPO in 2012.
Here are some little-known facts about one of the largest tech acquisitions.

Facebook's largest acquisition ever

WhatsApp is Facebook's largest-ever acquisition. The social networking giant will pay $4 billion in cash and $12 billion worth of shares for WhatsApp. But the ultimate cost of the deal is $19 billion, with WhatsApp employees and founders receiving an additional $3 billion in restricted stock units of Facebook.

The acquisition dwarfs the $1 billion that Facebook paid for photo-sharing service Instagram. Several analysts had termed Instagram acquisition expensive. But now, Facebook is paying $42 per user with the deal. 

Deal bigger than any Microsoft, Google, Apple deal ever

The WhatsApp acquisition is one of the IT industry's biggest deals. It is larger than any that Google, Microsoft or Apple have ever done. Google's biggest deal was its $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility, while Microsoft's biggest acquisition deal was of Skype at $8.5 billion. Apple, on the other hand, has never cut a deal above $1 billion

Informal talks went for over two years

Surprisingly, informal discussions between the two companies had been going for two years. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg first reached out to WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum in 2012. The two reportedly met at a coffee shop in California. However, the deal started shaping up earlier this month when Koum went to Zuckerberg’s house in Palo Alto for dinner.

According to reports, this is when the conversation about a possible deal became serious. Zuckerberg is said to have proposed that the two companies join together and Koum join Facebook's board.

Biggest-ever internet deal

According to Bloomberg data, the WhatsApp acquisition is one of the biggest internet deals since Time Warner's $124 billion merger with AOL in 2001.

Also, as per Dow Jones VentureSource, the deal is the largest acquisition ever of a venture capital-backed startup.

Google’s unusual offer to WhatsApp

Google’s unusual offer to WhatsApp Google’s unusual offer to WhatsApp

WhatsApp also reportedly received an unusual offer from Google that it is said to have turned down. Google reportedly offered to pay WhatsApp in exchange for the right to be notified if the messaging app ever entered into acquisition talks with another company. 

A report in Fortune claims that Google even offered to outrightly purchase WhatsApp for $10 billion. The offer is said to be sans the promise of a seat on Google's board for Koum, unlike the Facebook agreement.