The European Union granted approval to Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp in a pricey deal worth $19 billion.
Facebook, the world's largest social networking giant, will soon dominate instant messaging services after it officially closes the WhatsApp acquisition. On Friday, the European Union antitrust group granted permission to Facebook to acquire WhatsApp for its proposed $19 billion deal. With clearance from both EU and the U.S. antitrust bodies, the social network giant will finally conclude its biggest acquisition.
Facebook publicly revealed its intentions of purchasing WhatsApp last February and was waiting regulatory approvals. After months of wait, the social network has won the nod from the EU for completing the purchase. The EU cleared the deal after conducting a review that concluded both companies were not close rivals, according to TechCrunch.
The historical takeover will not make an impact on the competition in the market, which will continue to offer a wide range of communications apps.
"Consumer communications apps keep European citizens connected and are becoming increasingly popular," Commission Vice President in charge of competition policy Joaquín Almunia said in a press release, Friday. "While Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are two of the most popular apps, most people use more than one communications app. We have carefully reviewed this proposed acquisition and come to the conclusion that it would not hamper competition in this dynamic and growing market. Consumers will continue to have a wide choice of consumer communications apps."
The clearance from EU follows FTC's approval for the Facebook-WhatsApp deal earlier this year. FTC's approval came with a condition that both companies stand true to their word and promise to honor promises to consumers. Failing to do so will attract charges under violation of Section 5 of Federal Trade Commission Act, The Inquirer reports.
The European Union's approval challenges an appeal from telecom operators like Deutsche Orange, Telekom, and Telecom Italia for terminating the deal in light of boosted market share for users' data.
WhatsApp commands 600 million users around the world with its free instant messaging app. The company is expected to add voice calls to its service, which will add to the existing features of the free app.
