Facebook to buy messaging app WhatsApp for $19bn

[nightwanker]

Facebook has said it will buy messaging app WhatsApp for $19bn - the social networking giant's biggest purchase to date.

WhatsApp is popular with young people looking to avoid text messaging charges and has been cited as a rival to BlackBerry Messenger.
WhatsApp has over 450 million users.
In a statement, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg described WhatsApp's services as "incredibly valuable".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26266689

 

[Vanilla Bear]

WTF?! I happily avoid all this fagbook crap and now they buy something I do use?! :crash:

 

[Jagger69]

$19b for a company that has no real assets, products, inventory, or factory. Wow....Howard Hughes must be spinning in his grave.

 

[nightwanker]

19 billion $ for a company of 450 million users...
Every user is worth 42,22 $

A corporation of only virtual value.

Now decide on your own, if this is a lot or not.
And what does it say about you as a user?

 

[squallumz]

that app is chock full of personal information stealing capabilities as it is. its damn evil. and, now its about to get worse.

so long, privacy.

 

[bobjustbob]

Not a bad deal considering 15B is in stock. That's 8.6% of Facebook. 450M texters per month. How many texts do each exchange per month? Remember that when I send you a text, we both see the ad. That's a lot of impressions to sell.

Privacy? You give that up when you joined Facebook and other social networking sites.

 

[Straight Shooter]

It's a smart move by Facebook. Teens are spending less and less time on Facebook and instead are using Instagram(which Facebook also owns), WhatsApp and Snapchat. By grabbing WhatsApp, Facebook is now serving all demographics simultaneously: Facebook for the older demographic and Instagram and WhatsApp for the younger demographic.

 

[squallumz]

Privacy? You give that up when you joined Facebook and other social networking sites.

yeah, and that's one of the reasons why i will never ever ever join one.

 

[TheAdmiral]

19 billion? They couldve gotten it for free at the App Store!

 

[Rey C.]

What would be even funnier is if Suckerberg paid the cash portion in bitcoins.

I heard a good one the other day. Which is the better spy, the KGB at its height or an Android phone with a Facebook app?