A week ago, it was reported that Instagram would become available for Android users. Now Instagram is making even bigger news after being acquired by Facebook for close to $1 billion. The Facebook purchase of the surprisingly low 8-person staff company is a combination of cash and stock options. Instagram Co-Founder Kevin Sysrom earned $400 million today alone. Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement on an obvious forum…Facebook.
“We will try to learn from Instagram’s experience to build similar features into our other products. At the same time, we will try to help Instagram continue to grow by using Facebook’s strong enginerring team and infrastructure.”
Two interesting things to keep in mind with the purchase. First, Zuckerberg deliberately made it clear that he wants to build on Instagram as opposed to combining everything about the app onto Facebook. The plan is to continue allowing users the ability to publish photos on other social network platforms. Time will tell if there are many significant changes to the app everyone has fallen in love with.
The second major point is how will this affect the Facebook IPO. Zuckerberg flexed his muscles and showed his strength to all of Wall Street and any future investors. I’m not one claiming to be a stock market expert by any means but here’s what I do know. Any company willing to spend $1 billion on a startup company believes they’re gonna be around for the long haul. This is the most anticipated stock since Google and Facebook defines our generation. All I’m saying is if I had extra cash lying around, I would make an investment in the social media giant.
