Facebook has just announced that it has bought the Instagram photo-sharing service for a cool $1 billion (around £630 million).The shock acquisition comes just days after the filter-friendly application launched an Android app to sit alongside the iOS service, which has over 30 million users.The social networking giant will pay Instagram $1 billion in cash and stock from its upcoming IPO.
The full team, including CEO Kevin Systrom will stay on.CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the deal on his Facebook page, saying hook-up will help to create the best possible experience for sharing mobile photos.Facebook IPOFacebook files for IPOZuck on ‘social mission’What Zuckerberg’s letter teaches usCommitted to growing InstagramZuckerberg also said that Instagram will remain as a standalone service that Facebook is committed to developing as independent entity.He wrote: “I’m excited to share the news that we’ve agreed to acquire Instagram and that their talented team will be joining Facebook.”For years, we’ve focused on building the best experience for sharing photos with your friends and family. Now, we’ll be able to work even more closely with the Instagram team to also offer the best experiences for sharing beautiful mobile photos with people based on your interests.”We believe these are different experiences that complement each other.
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Facebook buys Instagram for $1 billion
