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Facebook Is Buying WhatsApp For $16 Billion In Cash And Stock

Facebook is set to buy mobile messaging app, WhatsApp, for $16 billion in cash and stock. WhatsApp, which was co-founded by former Yahoo! employees, Jan Koum and Brian Acton, will continue to act independently, according to the SEC filing, which confirms the purchase.

"WhatsApp is on a path to connect one billion people," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a press release. "The services that reach that milestone are all incredibly valuable."

WhatsApp boasts an amount of 450 million users who use the app every month, while 70 percent of those users are active daily. The service is free for new users, and costs $1 per year for those who want to continue using the app every year after that.

Furthermore, WhatsApp does not feature advertisements, a decision which Koum and Acton say stems from their desire to provide the best product for their users.

“WhatsApp's extremely high user engagement and rapid growth are driven by the simple, powerful and instantaneous messaging capabilities we provide," said CEO Koum, who is now set to join Facebook's board. "We're excited and honored to partner with Mark and Facebook as we continue to bring our product to more people around the world.”

The breakdown of the acquisition fee for WhatsApp comes down to $4 billion in cash and $12 million worth of Facebook shares.

Top Photo Courtesy: Whats App