Facebook Inc. said it is acquiring the popular photo-sharing app maker Instagram for $1 billion in what is the social network's biggest acquisition to date.
Facebook, which is in the process of going public in a deal that will raise as much as $10 billion and value the company at more than $100 billion, has stayed away from big acquisitions. The Menlo Park, Calif., company has traditionally purchased small start-ups for tens of millions of dollars, often discarding the technology and focusing on the human talent that comes with the deal.
Kevin Systrom, left, and Mike Krieger, founders of Instagram, pose in this undated handout photo provided to the media on Tuesday, May 17, 2011.
Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg made clear in a statement that while he plans to integrate some aspects of Instagram into Facebook, he expects Instagram to operate as an independent company.
"We will try to learn from Instagram's experience to build similar features into our other products," Mr. Zuckerberg said in a statement. "At the same time, we will try to help Instagram continue to grow by using Facebook's strong engineering team and infrastructure."
Facebook said the $1 billion deal will be completed with a mixture of shares and cash and is expected to close later this quarter.
Instagram bills itself as a fun and quirky way to share photos with friends. A user can snap a photo with an iPhone, then choose a filter to transform the look of the shot, with the app originally known for a look akin to old photographs.
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