Facebook buys WhatsApp for $19 billion in tech world’s largest buy

[sgk]

Facebook is buying mobile messaging service WhatsApp for $19 billion in cash and stock, by far the company's largest acquisition and bigger than any that Google, Microsoft or Apple have ever done.

http://www.firstpost.com/world/facebook-buys-whatsapp-for-19-billion-in-tech-worlds-largest-buy-1399787.html

[Hazir]

Great news, I bet they invite a new ways to invigilate people with that new tech they acquired. GG Facebook.

PS. It is really sad day.

[Mike Christ]

Well, fuck that.  Time to find another...

[Kluge]

I guess Facebook had no idea what to do with all the free assets from its IPO?

[giletto]

Aaaaand stop using Whatsapp incoming! I am absolutely sure they will flood with advertise. No way Fuckerberg!

[sgk]

Clearly there is something seriously wrong with human evolution when people are dying of starving and a messaging app is sold for $19 Billion

[rohnearner]

Clearly there is something seriously wrong with human evolution when people are dying of starving and a messaging app is sold for $19 Billion

sadly that is how things are working in this World, pure business , I think facebook has realized that sooner or later watsapp will take over there member base , it is already beating facebook in daily signups i guess, most of facebook users already switched to watsaap so they have to do it to sustain..! otherwise Google and Microsoft will eat them..! there is no mercy.. Facebook don't have products like google or microsoft. But now they are planning seriously to bag few. I think they are looking to take over all the social networking site, Only twitter is there to give them some competition   

[Sheldor333]

This is getting out of hand... these valuations of these apps are absurd, IMO. I think we're going to see a lot of this collapse in the next few years. This all just screams bubble to me...
Did some googling, so let me elaborate: In 2013, NBC Universal was aquired by Comcast for $17bn. Facebook thinks that WhatsApp is worth more than NBC Universal?! Really? Additionally, Heinz was bought by Berkshire Hathaway for $23bn, which is only a rock's throw away from the price Facebook paid for WhatsApp. I'm sorry, but I just don't see how WhatsApp is possibly adding as much value to the market place as NBC Universal or Heinz...
I think like we had the dotcom bubble burst a few years ago, we're about to start seeing the social/app bubble burst soon. These valuations and buyouts of things like whatsapp and instagram and the like are insane. These apps are easily usurped by the next big thing, the next fad, or the next shift in technology. The only thing that could possibly make things worthwhile is the data-mining aspect, but I still don't see how that information is truly worth that much money. Maybe I'm just ignorant? idk...

Anyway, here is official facebook investor page, for those who want more info: http://investor.fb.com/secfiling.cfm?filingID=1326801-14-10&CIK=1326801

[hilariousandco]

19 billion for an app  . Why couldn't they just create their own and integrate it somehow with Facebook and save themselves a lot of money?

[pdawg]

19 billion for an app I've never even heard of = fail.

[rohnearner]

19 billion for an app  . Why couldn't they just create their own and integrate it somehow with Facebook and save themselves a lot of money?

haha how they will get all that member base.. they just bought it for that, there are so many better social networks or social aaps better then many main stream networks  currently that went in dark due to very low member base even after using all the advertisement to get exposure .. !

[rohnearner]

19 billion for an app I've never even heard of = fail.

you never heard of whatsapp ..? its is one of the top aaps in iOS and android market  . now pls  don't tell me that you never heard of iOS and android :p

[pdawg]

that deal is so retarded.  I text people people on all platforms daily and never heard of whatsapp until this post.  19 billion lol.

[rohnearner]

This is getting out of hand... these valuations of these apps are absurd, IMO. I think we're going to see a lot of this collapse in the next few years. This all just screams bubble to me...
Did some googling, so let me elaborate: In 2013, NBC Universal was aquired by Comcast for $17bn. Facebook thinks that WhatsApp is worth more than NBC Universal?! Really? Additionally, Heinz was bought by Berkshire Hathaway for $23bn, which is only a rock's throw away from the price Facebook paid for WhatsApp. I'm sorry, but I just don't see how WhatsApp is possibly adding as much value to the market place as NBC Universal or Heinz...
I think like we had the dotcom bubble burst a few years ago, we're about to start seeing the social/app bubble burst soon. These valuations and buyouts of things like whatsapp and instagram and the like are insane. These apps are easily usurped by the next big thing, the next fad, or the next shift in technology. The only thing that could possibly make things worthwhile is the data-mining aspect, but I still don't see how that information is truly worth that much money. Maybe I'm just ignorant? idk...

Anyway, here is official facebook investor page, for those who want more info: http://investor.fb.com/secfiling.cfm?filingID=1326801-14-10&CIK=1326801

I don't think they only acquired whatsapp to add value to there market rather they did it to shut down the competition b/w whatsapp and fb , they were left behind in that competition by a long margin. If fb haven't bought whatsapp i'm sure within few years whatsapp might have acquired fb that too in very low price . So you can say they paid 19$bn just to save fb.  

[hilariousandco]

19 billion for an app  . Why couldn't they just create their own and integrate it somehow with Facebook and save themselves a lot of money?

haha how they will get all that member base.. they just bought it for that, there are so many better social networks or social aaps better then many main stream networks  currently that went in dark due to very low member base even after using all the advertisement to get exposure .. !

You're seriously asking how Facebook will get a memberbase?

[rohnearner]

19 billion for an app  . Why couldn't they just create their own and integrate it somehow with Facebook and save themselves a lot of money?

haha how they will get all that member base.. they just bought it for that, there are so many better social networks or social aaps better then many main stream networks  currently that went in dark due to very low member base even after using all the advertisement to get exposure .. !

You're seriously asking how Facebook will get a memberbase?

Yeah , all there members are fed up with them , ask any 10 people/friends  who are using whatsapp nd facebook both, 7 of them will say that they will prefer whatsaap over facebook. and even after they will create something like whatsapp its not gonna work because peoples are fed up with fb, so only option left there was to buy whatsapp

[hilariousandco]

19 billion for an app  . Why couldn't they just create their own and integrate it somehow with Facebook and save themselves a lot of money?

haha how they will get all that member base.. they just bought it for that, there are so many better social networks or social aaps better then many main stream networks  currently that went in dark due to very low member base even after using all the advertisement to get exposure .. !

You're seriously asking how Facebook will get a memberbase?

Yeah , all there members are fed up with them , ask any 10 people/friends  who are using whatsapp nd facebook both, 7 of them will say that they will prefer whatsaap over facebook. and even after they will create something like whatsapp its not gonna work because peoples are fed up with fb, so only option left there was to buy whatsapp

Will they? Have you actually done this market research or are you just assuming they'll say that? Nobody I know would say this. What's app is just a text service, it can't offer 90% of what Facebook does.

[escrow.ms]

They will probably add a option to chat with fb friends from whatsapp, on top of that they will get a huge database of verified mobile numbers,photos etc. They can sell users data,give it to NSA, or do many other things.

In jan, whatsapp userbase was around 430million, so you can say they paid around 38$ per user and got whole company and software for free .
And about 16 (some sites say, they paid 16) or 19 billion they can earn it back in no time

[rohnearner]

Will they? Have you actually done this market research or are you just assuming they'll say that? Nobody I know would say this. What's app is just a text service, it can't offer 90% of what Facebook does.

forget what i say.. just try on your own ask 10 frnds who use both the services whatsapp and fb, and then tell me the reactions .. the main reason why whatsapp is better then fb in opinion of many users because  whatsapp keeps you in touch with only those people who really hold some kind of value in your life, and if you telling me whats app can't offer 90% of what fb does, you are wrong, absolutely wrong..! just tell me what 90% fb does nd WA don't

[rmines]

Not a good thing what's happened. Facebook will only get more control over your privacy with this takeover.
I've switched to Telegram. Same nice layout and although not 100% secure a lot safer than whatsapp. If you start a secret chat, it uses P2P instead of storing messages on their servers.