Popular cross-platform mobile messaging app WhatsApp has quashed rumours that it is in discussions to sell the company to Google for up to US$1bn.
On Sunday, Digital Trends reported that WhatsApp had started negotiations with Google up to five weeks ago. Citing an insider source, the report went on to say that WhatsApp was jockeying for a buyout worth more than US$1bn.
However, WhatsApp’s head of business development Neeraj Arora has since denied that the company is in talks with Google on a possible acquisition. Arora told AllThingsD that WhatsApp is not holding sales talks with Google.
The WhatsApp mobile app processes up to 18bn messages daily. It allows users to send instant messages to one another either as text, images, video or audio across multiple platforms. It has reached more than 100m downloads across Android, iOS, BlackBerry OS, Nokia S40, Symbian and Windows Phone platforms.
Via the app, users can also create groups to send each other messages.
WhatsApp was founded in Silicon Valley in 2009 by Jan Koum and Brian Acton. They had both worked at Yahoo! before setting up the company.
