WhatsApp denies rumoured Google buyout
WhatsApp has denied the latest round of acquisition rumours, which this time named Google as the interested buyer.
WhatsApp business development head, Neeraj Arora, has denied the recent rumours which suggested that Google was going to acquire the instant messaging company for $1bn. Neeraj Arora refused to give any further comments on the discussion.
This isn’t the first time that we have heard stories of WhatsApp being acquired. In December 2012, Neeraj Arora declined rumours which hinted that the messaging service would be purchased by social networking giant Facebook. On the occasion, Neeraj Arora said “The TechCrunch article is a rumor and not factually accurate. We have no further information to share at the moment.”
The rumours about Google acquiring WhatsApp were circulating the web yesterday. Rumours suggest that WhatsApp is holding out for a price close to $1 billion, something that has been labelled as “playing hardball”. The idea of Google buying WhatsApp seemed like a good idea to integrate its messaging services on Android smartphones. As of now, users can synch their SMS’s with the Facebook Messaging app integrating two services in one app with one interface.
This isn’t the first time Google has tried to acquire WhatsApp. Google had made an attempt to buy WhatsApp sometime in December last year, but that discussion did not progress much beyond the initial discussion stage.
WhatsApp is a instant messaging app that works on Wi-Fi and data so there is no charge on your cellular service. The app is available on all phone platforms – Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, and Apple’s iOS. WhatsApp lets users send messages, audio, video and lets you have group chat as well.
Source: Apple Insider