Facebook has agreed to buy the mobile messaging company WhatsApp for $19bn (£11.4bn), the social network has announced.
The company said in a statement that it would pay $4bn (£2.4bn) in cash and $15bn (£9bn) in Facebook shares as part of the deal.
The app's founders and employees will get $3bn (£1.8bn) of the shares as restricted stock that will vest over four years after the deal closes.
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Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of Facebook, first approached WhatsApp in the first half of 2012 but only began talking about the final deal a week and a half ago. He said the acquisition would help Facebook in its strategy to "connect everyone in the world".
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"WhatsApp is on a path to connect 1bn people. The services that reach that milestone are all incredibly valuable," he said. "I've known Jan for a long time and I'm excited to partner with him and his team to make the world more open and connected."
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