Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended his decision to acquire the instant messaging service WhatsApp for $16 billion by saying it is a "great fit" for the social networking site.
During a keynote speech at the 2014 Mobile World Congress on Monday, Zuckerberg explained his reason of buying the messaging service for a huge amount. He discussed the similarity of WhatsApp and Facebook which is to connect one billion people around the globe. He added that the app's number of users, which is now roughly 450 million, is an additional reason.
"There are very few services in the world that can reach that level," Zuckerberg said.
On Feb. 19, it was revealed that Facebook agreed to buy WhatsApp for a total of $16 billion. The amount includes $4 billion cash and $12 million worth of Facebook common stock. Furthermore, its employees will receive an additional $3 billion of restricted stock units.
Following the acquisition, WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum assured users in a blog post that its services will remain the same. There will be no changes except that Koum will be part of Facebook's board of directors. He wrote, "WhatsApp will remain autonomous and operate independently. You can continue to enjoy the service for a nominal fee. You can continue to use WhatsApp no matter where in the world you are, or what smartphone you're using.
When asked about reigniting negotiations with Snapchat, an app which he tried buying for $3 billion before but was declined, Zuckerberg said to USA Today, "After buying a company for $16 billion, you're probably done for a while."
During his speech, he also revealed that the company has worked with New York-based accounting firm Deloitte to assess the social and economic value of Internet connectivity. The report told them that by expanding Internet access, over 140 million jobs would be created and about 160 million people would be taken out of poverty. This could also give 640 million kids access to cost-effective learning tools and resources. Furthermore, by giving people access to health care/medical information, deaths or sickness of 2.5 million people will be prevented and child death rates will be decreased by seven percent.
Having this said, it seems that the Facebook CEO will be shifting his focus on his goal to bring cheaper Internet connectivity to the world.
