WhatsApp valued at $1.5 billion in last financing round before buyout

As you probably know by now, WhatsApp was purchased by Facebook for $19 billion in cash and stock. What you might not realize is that as recently as last July, the messaging app received $52 million at a valuation of $1.5 billion. That means that the company's value rose over 12 times in 7 months. Previous financing rounds took place in 2011 ($8 million at a valuation of $80 million) and 2009 (an initial seed round of $250,000).

All of the money was placed by Venture Capital firm Sequoia, which resulted in the company owning 20% of WhatsApp. As a result, the investment firm now owns $3.2 billion in cash and stock related to the buyout, which results in a 50 fold profit for Sequoia. You can check out the contract for the $52 million Series B investment made by the venture capital firm, below.

The $19 billion deal is the largest in history for any venture backed company. The question is whether this is a peak, or the beginning of a new era.

source: VCExperts via TechCrunch
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