Facebook to fork out $19bn for WhatsApp

Facebook is placing a $19bn (€13.87bn) bet on reaching its next billion mobile users with the acquisition of WhatsApp, the messaging service that lets people send texts, photos, and videos, on their smartphones.

The deal is by far Facebook’s largest, and outstrips any that Google, Microsoft, or Apple have ever done. However, it is likely to raise worries that Facebook and other technology firms are starting to become overzealous in their pursuit of promising new products and services, said Anthony Michael Sabino, a St John’s University business professor.

“This could be seen as a microcosm of a bubble,” said Mr Sabino. “I expect there to be a lot of scepticism about this deal. People are going to look at this and say, ‘Uh-oh, did they pay way too much for this?”