Snapchat turns down Facebook’s $3bn offer

Snapchat, a rapidly growing messaging service turned down a $3 billion offer from Facebook, according to Wall Street Journal sources. The rejection came as Snapchat is being wooed by other investors and potential buyers. Chinese e-commerce giant Tencent Holdings had offered to lead an investment that would value two-year-old Snapchat at $4 billion. Tencent owns WeChat, a major messaging service in China, and has a stake in KaKao, a popular South Korean app. WSJ sources said Evan Spiegel, Snapchat’s 23-year-old co-founder and CEO, will not likely consider an acquisition or an investment at least until early next year. A Snapchat spokeswoman declined to comment. Snapchat specializes in ephemeral mobile messages, including text or photographs, that disappear after a few seconds. The service has not generated any revenue, but is especially popular among teenagers and young adults, who use the app to send messages to friends.
Facebook is interested in Snapchat because more of its users are tapping the service via smartphones, where messaging is a core function.

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