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Google reportedly offered $10 billion for WhatsApp

20
Feb
2014

Facebook’s surprise $16 billion acquisition of WhatsApp yesterday might not have been part of the only offer the messaging company received. Fortune reports that Google offered to buy WhatsApp for $10 billion. In a brief report on the rumored offer, Fortune notes that two separate sources have confirmed Google offered to purchase WhatsApp, but it’s unclear exactly when the search giant attempted to arrange a deal. The bid reportedly came without a promise of a Google board seat, unlike Facebook’s agreement. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg proposed the purchase to WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan Koum on February 9th, with a finalized deal ready a few days later. Business Insider reports that Koum visited Zuckerberg’s home on Valentine’s Day, interrupting a private dinner, and agreed the deal before finalizing the details and pricing over chocolate covered strawberries. Koum will now take a place at Facebook’s board, and has promised nothing will change for users immediately as Facebook plans to run WhatsApp independently, much like Instagram.

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