It is Facebook’s biggest acquisition and comes less than two years after
the California-based Internet star raised Sh1.37 trillion ($16 billion)
in the richest tech sector public stock offering.Facebook is betting
huge on mobile with an eye-popping cash-and-stock deal worth up to $19
billion for Internet Age smartphone messaging service WhatsApp.
The surprise mega-deal announced Wednesday
bolsters the world’s biggest social network -- which has more than 1.2
billion members -- with the 450-million-strong WhatsApp, which will be
operated independently with its own board.
It fits with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s
focus on being at the centre of lifestyles in which billions of people
around the world share whatever they wish over the Internet using
smartphones or tablets. “Facebook works harder than any other social
site to keep people coming back,” said Forrester analyst Nate Elliott.
“In the past year, they’ve focused much of that
effort on mobile -- introducing Home and Paper, and upgrading both their
Facebook and Messenger apps -- and this is another step towards keeping
people engaged no matter where they are.” Facebook promised that
WhatsApp would remain independent and said it served a real-time
communication need, while Messenger was used more in the style of email
between members of the social network.
WhatsApp is ideally suited to young people who
increasingly prefer rapid-fire smartphone messaging to making calls or
churning out email. Facebook has been eager to keep the devotion of
young users who set trends and carry tech habits into the future.
It is Facebook’s biggest acquisition and comes
less than two years after the California-based Internet star raised
Sh1.37 trillion ($16 billion) in the richest tech sector public stock
offering.
Zuckerberg said that WhatsApp -- a cross-platform
mobile app that allows users to exchange messages without having to pay
telecom charges -- was worth the steep price because its blistering
growth around the globe has it on a clear path to hit a billion users
and beyond. (AFP)
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