Facebook is acquiring WhatsApp for 16 billion dollars

Facebook has decided to acquire WhatsApp, a personal real-time messaging network allowing millions of people around the world to stay connected with their friends and family. Facebook is paying $4 billion in cash and $12 billion in stock for WhatsApp. The agreement also provides for an additional $3 billion in restricted stock units to be granted to WhatsApp’s founders and employees that will vest over four years subsequent to closing.

In a press release announcing the purchase, Mark Zuckerberg said, "WhatsApp is on a path to connect 1 billion people. The services that reach that milestone are all incredibly valuable." The Facebook CEO also shared news of the deal on his personal Facebook page, saying, "WhatsApp will complement our existing chat and messaging services to provide new tools for our community."

Jan Koum from WhatsApp explained that the purchase will not affect the users in his blog post stating “WhatsApp will remain autonomous and operate independently. You can continue to enjoy the service for a nominal fee. You can continue to use WhatsApp no matter where in the world you are, or what smartphone you’re using. And you can still count on absolutely no ads interrupting your communication. There would have been no partnership between our two companies if we had to compromise on the core principles that will always define our company, our vision and our product. “