Facebook can now say 'WhatsApp'; Acquisition complete at $21.8 billion

New York, Oct 7: One of the biggest acquisitions in the history of Social Media is finally complete. Social media giant

has taken over messaging service

for almost $22 billion. The initial price that was fixed was $19 billion when the cash-in-deal was struck when price of Facebook shares rose.

In fact, Facebook named Jan Koum, who is the WhatsApp co-founder and CEO, in the board on Monday. WhatsApp is considered to be the biggest acquisition ventures for the Menlo Park, California company, and is considered to be even bigger than the deals made by Google, Microsoft and Apple.

The initial deal too had raised eyebrows, but what nailed the coffin was the cash, stock and restricted stock awarded to WhatsApp employees. On an overall, the deal is worth $21.8 billion based on Facebook's stock price on Monday.

WhatsApp is a popular messaging site that has been expanding rapidly in countries like Brazil, India, Mexico and Russia. It now has more than 500 million users. A popular chatting site for youngsters, the app allows one to chat one-on-one and in groups. It also allows one to send texts, photos and videos. The first year of chatting is free and the following years would cost $1 each.

Facebook is planning to keep WhatsApp as a separate entity, apart from its own mobile messaging app called Messenger. The acquisition was approved by antitrust authority of the European Union on Friday. Facebook's shares climbed 32 cents to $77.76 in afternoon trading on Monday.

OneIndia News