Facebook Buys WhatsApp for $19 Billion

WhatsApp has more than 450 million monthly users and is popular with people looking to avoid texting charges. In a statement announcing the deal, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg described services WhatsApp for ' value '. WhatsApp allows users to send messages over the Internet connection, to avoid texting fees. The company says it currently register one million new users a day. It makes money by charging users a subscription fee of $1 per year, although it provides a model for free.

The agreement to purchase it includes a $4bn in cash and approximately $12bn worth of Facebook shares, plus an additional $3bn in stock to the founders of WhatsApp and staff at a later date. On a conference call to discuss the deal, WhatsApp co - founder Jan Koum said he planned to work with the firm ' independently and autonomously '. He will be a member of Facebook 's board of directors.

" We are pleased and honored to partner Mark and Facebook as we continue to bring our product to many people around the world," Mr. Balaguet said in a statement. Mr Zuckerberg said the hope was first floated just 11 days ago.

Facebook founder said he believed the WhatsApp was on track to become a billion users, but insisted he had no plans to put advertising on interface WhatsApp, said he did not think the ads were the best way to make money with text messages. Once the youngest statement, Mr. Balaguet and co- founder Brian Acton is set to become Billionaires Silicon Valley 's newest. WhatsApp has a total staff of about 50.

Cathy Boyle, a senior analyst at the research firm eMarketer, said the WhatsApp been on Facebook for a number of reasons beyond advertising, including its user - base of young and abroad." WhatsApp actually has great penetration of international markets than Facebook," Ms Boyle told the BBC. He added that it was significant that the officer 's Facebook 's financial officer David Ebersman in the telecommunications industry is in talks to buy the company." WhatsApp is trying to siphon the billions that the Telecom industry would from a traditional SMS text messages, she said.

WhatsApp users say what they like and dislike about the app. Ben Bajarin, from California based consultants technology Creative Strategies, told BBC Radio 4 's Today program that the deal would allow Facebook to tap the rapidly growing market.

"WhatsApp is moving toward one billion users," he said." They 're growing exponentially., More quickly than Facebook" Facebook is a key area of ​​growth, even if monetise the product, this is the way that Facebook did not get the next billion consumers smartphone into their ecosystem... to touch them and interact with them at platform Facebook." Shares in Facebook fell 5 % in after hours trading, before recovering slightly. Before this finding, buying Facebook 's been great Instagram for $1bn in 2012. Had reportedly offered $3bn to find the photo service Snapchat messages.