Facebook is
buying mobile messaging service WhatsApp for up to $19 billion in cash and
stock, by far the company’s largest acquisition.
The world’s
biggest social networking company said on Wednesday that it is paying $12
billion in Facebook stock and $4 billion in cash for WhatsApp. In addition, the
app’s founders and employees will be granted $3 billion in restricted stock
that will vest over four years after the deal closes.
Facebook
says it is keeping WhatsApp as a separate service, just as it did with
Instagram, which it bought for about $715.3 million.
WhatsApp has
more than 450 million monthly active users. In comparison, Twitter had 241
million users at the end of 2014.
Facebook
chief executive Mark Zuckerberg says WhatsApp is on path to reach a billion
users.
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