Facebook completed its WhatsApp acquisition and welcomed founder Jan Koum to its board of members with an annual base salary of $1.
WhatsApp's co-founder Jan Koum is the latest high-profile figure in the technology industry to have chosen to take the symbolic annual salary of $1. Following the iconic footsteps of Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Larry Page and Sergey Brin among others, Koum will also draw an annual base salary of $1 at Facebook. The move follows the completion of the $19 billion worth WhatsApp acquisition on Monday.
According to the SEC filing, Facebook awarded 177,760,669 shares of Class A common stock and 45,941,775 in restricted stock to WhatsApp employees and $4.59 billion to WhatsApp stakeholders. Evaluating the price of Facebook shares, the WhatsApp deal, which was originally valued at $19 billion, rose to $21.8 billion, Re/Code reported. As an incentive for joining Facebook's board, Koum received a signing bonus of 24,853,468 restricted stock units. According to a WSJ report, the total restricted stock units are worth $2 billion.
WhatsApp founder Jan Koum will take salary of only $1 after Facebook acquisition. (Oh, and $2B in restricted stock.) https://t.co/S5o5vfD8El
— Lisa Fleisher (@lisafleisher) October 6, 2014
"In connection with his continued employment as WhatsApp's Chief Executive Officer, WhatsApp entered into an offer letter agreement with Mr. Koum (the "Offer Letter")," reads the SEC filing. "The Offer Letter has no specific term and constitutes at-will employment. The Offer Letter provides that Mr. Koum will receive an annual base salary of $1 and he will not be eligible for a bonus under the Company's bonus plan."
Facebook originally revealed plans to acquire WhatsApp in February last year. Due to pending regulatory approvals, the official paperwork for the acquisition was put on hold. Earlier this year, FTC approved the Facebook-WhatsApp deal with a condition that the companies stay true to their word and promises to its customers. But the deal was due for an EU review, which as of last week got its final nod from the European Union. Without delaying the matter any further, Facebook quickly closed the deal on Monday and became the legal owner of WhatsApp.
