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Facebook acquires WhatsApp for $19 billion, in desperate attempt to stave off stagnation
2014-02-20 16:09:07| Extremetech
Late yesterday, Facebook acquired WhatsApp for the princely (and ludicrous) sum of $19 billion in cash and stock. This is one of the largest acquisitions in Silicon Valley history -- and yet, if you're American, you probably don't even know what WhatsApp is, let alone why it's worth $19 billion. In a sentence, WhatsApp replaces text messaging (SMS) -- and it has grown to 450 million monthly users in under five years. While a purchase price of $19 billion might seem like insanity, especially when compared to its $1 billion acquisition of Instagram, it's actually a savvy move to ensure that Facebook remains the world's predominant messaging platform.
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Category:Information Technology