Snapchat has reportedly turned down an acquisition offer from social network king Facebook valued at $3 billion or more in cash. The reason for declining the offer is because the Venice, California-based startup is currently being courted by multiple investors according to sources familiar with the matter as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
That’s no small chunk of change as it is three times what Facebook paid for Instagram but at the same time, Snapchat has emerged as one of the world’s most popular messaging apps over mobile. Facebook reportedly bid $1 billion for Snapchat previously, the publication notes.
The service is especially popular among today’s youth that are growing tired of Facebook and those looking to distance themselves from it because their parents now hang out there.
Snapchat hasn’t disclosed the exact size of its user base but at last check, the two-year-old service handles some 350 million messages each day. One estimate claims that roughly nine percent of adult cell phone owners in the US use the app, or in other words, a lot of people.
Snapchat is said to be working a huge round of funding to the tune of around a $4 billion valuation. With that knowledge, Snapchat’s decision to decline Facebook’s offer certainly makes more sense but even still, declining a mega payday after just two years of service would be tough for most – myself included – to do.
We are told that co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel likely won’t entertain an acquisition or investment until early next year at the soonest.
