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Facebook is in no rush to monetize WhatsApp and see a return on its whopping investment, according to a new report.
Speaking in India on Thursday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the company has no near-term plans for how to make money off WhatsApp, according to Reuters, which was in attendance. While Zuckerberg stopped short of saying that Facebook isn’t sketching out ways to monetize its WhatsApp acquisition, at least in the short term not much will change.
Facebook on Monday closed its WhatsApp acquisition, the largest deal ever for the social-networking giant. The acquisition, originally valued at $19 billion, includes cash and stock, and because of the rise in Facebook’s share price, the value has swelled to $22 billion. Facebook reassured US regulators that WhatsApp would remain a standalone app and not find its way into the social network.
With over 600 million users, WhatsApp is by far the most popular messaging app in the world, heavily used for sending messages to and from mobile devices. When Facebook announces plans to acquire WhatsApp in February, analysts questioned how the company would find a way to generate enough cash to justify its hefty price. It appears at this point that Facebook hasn’t settled on a plan just yet.
But with the closing of the acquisition, Facebook is now in a better position to get its hands around the company and see how it can improve its financial performance. Expect Zuckerberg to have more to say to shareholders about monetizing his massive acquisition at some point soon.
Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shares in Facebook are down less than 1 percent to $77.20 in premarket trading on Thursday.
