Rumour has it that snapchat just turned down a $3 billion offer from Facebook, and $4 billion from Google to acquire the company. The consumer internet firm is just going on to its third year, and to receive offers of this size is rare. Facebook only bought Instagram for $2 billion last year in 2012, and Ebay bought Skype for $2.4 billion in 2005. It is very rare to see an offer go to as high as 3, and even 4, billion dollars for a consumer internet firm that has only been in business for a mere two years. Needless to say, it might be hard for Snapchat to see an offer this size again considering how interested companies with enough capital is limited. Then again, if Snapchat turned down an offer this size from Facebook and Google, it must feel confident in its future. Experts are saying that Snapchat is either waiting for a better deal or planning to become the next Facebook.
One important aspect of Snapchat that makes it stand out from the rest of the online social applications is its self-destructing messages. However, with consumers now learning to take screenshots of the photo messages sent to them, this unique selling point, may no longer be so unique. While Snapchat might, at first, seem like a social media platform running on a ‘no digital footprint’ trend with its automatic self-destructing messages, this is no longer the case. So is Snapchat really worth the billions of dollars that these companies are willing to pay for them, if the rumours are true? If the rumours are true, did Snapchat make the right decision in rejecting these billion dollar offers, or are they being a little too optimistic?How far will Snapchat go before it turns into another MySpace or Geocity that everyone’s forgotten about, or will it go far and become the next Facebook?
Sources:
Louis, Tristan. “Snapchat And Other Best and Bungled Billion-Dollars Offers.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 16 Nov. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/tristanlouis/2013/11/16/snapchat-and-other-best-and-bungled-billion-dollars-offers/>.
Brown, Joshua. “Snapchat’s Value: ‘A Form Of Delusion'” Business Insider. N.p., 16 Nov. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.businessinsider.com/snapchats-value-a-form-of-delusion-2013-11>.
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