Facebook announced Tuesday that it is acquiring the company behind the next-generation virtual reality platform, Oculus VR, for $2 billion in a bid to dominate the futuristic platforms of virtual reality.
Facebook, the world's largest social networking site, made the headlines when it surprisingly acquired WhatsApp in a bid worth $19 billion last month, and once again, the company is stealing the limelight by investing in the future of virtual reality platform. In an announcement Tuesday, Facebook confirmed that it has inked a deal with Oculus VR to acquire the company for $2 billion in cash and stocks. With the acquisition, Facebook is aiming at a stronger future for the next-generation virtual reality platform in different areas including gaming, communication, media, entertainment and education.
In order to acquire Oculus VR, Facebook will pay $400 million in cash and 23.1 million shares of Facebook common stock, which valued at $69.35 per share sums up to $1.6 billion. Facebook will additionally shell out $300 million in cash and stock on completing certain set goals for the company.
Oculus VR is the company behind the virtual reality headset called Oculus Rift. The gaming headset virtually takes the users into the digital gaming world with 3D viewing in an ultra-wide field of view in 360 degrees.
"When you put it on, you enter a completely immersive computer-generated environment, like a game or a movie scene or a place far away," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a post through his Facebook account on Tuesday. "The incredible thing about the technology is that you feel like you're actually present in another place with other people. People who try it say it's different from anything they've ever experienced in their lives."
Zuckerberg also noted that the acquisition of Oculus will help his company pioneer in the platforms of tomorrow. The acquisition will not change the way Oculus will work on its current groundbreaking product, the Oculus Rift. In fact Zuckerberg says immersive gaming is the priority, but with more development to come.
"After games, we're going to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences," Zuckerberg wrote. Imagine enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face -- just by putting on goggles in your home."
Oculus team will continue working at its current head office in Irvine, California. The deal is expected to conclude in the second quarter of 2014.
