Google is in talks to acquire cross-platform messaging application WhatsApp, claims a Digital Trend report.
Google and WhatsApp have been talking for "four or five weeks," according to Digital Trends, citing a person who claims to have knowledge of the negotiations. So far, WhatsApp has been able to push the acquisition price to nearly $1 billion by "playing hardball," the source says.
WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging applications available to mobile users. The app allows users on almost any mobile platform -- including Android, iOS, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone -- to send instant messages, images, audio, and video messages to one another. The messaging app essentially allows for cross-platform texting without having to pay for SMS.
In January, WhatsApp announced that it had set a personal record on New Year's Eve, with 7 billion inbound messages sent that day. Another 11 billion outbound messages were sent in the same time period. WhatsApp's previous one-day record stood at 10 billion total messages.
Whether WhatsApp is actually worth $1 billion is up for debate. That's the price that Facebook paid for Instagram last year, and some believed the deal didn't land in the social network's favor. WhatsApp, while popular, doesn't have the kind of cachet that Instagram did at the time of that acquisition, making such a valuation seem high. And because the Digital Trends story comes from only one source, it's important to take it with a grain of salt at this time.
Google is rumoured to be working on Babel, a mobile messaging app that unifies various communication services under one umbrella.WhatsApp is the most popular mobile instant messengers, ahead of rivals like Viber, Kik, WeChat, Nimbuzz etc. It is among the top paid apps in over 100 countries and charges $0.99 for annual ad-free subscription.
If the acquisition is successful, WhatsApp will join the ranks of Google's high-profile buyouts like YouTube and Android.
This is the second time that reports of WhatsApp's takeover have emerged in the past year, as Facebook was in talks to acquire it previously. Last year, Facebook reportedly made an offer forWhatsApp, which was denied by the latter.
If the acquisition is successful, WhatsApp will join the ranks of Google's high-profile buyouts like YouTube and Android.
This is the second time that reports of WhatsApp's takeover have emerged in the past year, as Facebook was in talks to acquire it previously. Last year, Facebook reportedly made an offer forWhatsApp, which was denied by the latter.
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