Facebook Completes WhatsApp Acquisition

Facebook is now the legal owner of WhatsApp.

Social networking giant, Facebook, closed its multi-billion acquisition of the popular mobile messaging app, WhatsApp, on Monday. After getting the approval in the U.S. earlier this year, Facebook finally got a go signal from the European Union on Friday last week.

During today’s filing at the SEC, Facebook said that it will award 177,760,669 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock and approximately $4.59 billion in cash to existing WhatsApp shareholders. According to Reuters, the final price tag has risen from $19 billion to $22 billion, after an increased value of Facebook stock.

As part of the deal, WhatsApp co-founder, /1//10//11//12/Koum, will be joining Facebook’s board and is entitled to receive $1 in annual base salary and restricted stock units reportedly worth $2 billion, the Wall Street Journal said. Koum will also remain as the chief executive of WhatsApp.

This means that Facebook is now the legal owner of WhatsApp.Facebook bought WhatsApp in February this year for a whopping $19 billion, outranking the $1 billion Instagram deal in 2012.