Meta Inc. (META), the company that owns Facebook, the world's largest social networking website, was founded by CEO Mark Zuckerberg and several Harvard College roommates in 2004. The company's name initially was FaceMash, which was changed to TheFacebook, eventually dropping "The" from its name to Facebook, before being changed yet again to Meta in October 2021.
Zuckerberg and his co-founders initially launched the service for their Harvard classmates, quickly expanding it to other universities and then to the general public.
The company since then has grown into a global giant with a market cap of $1.2 trillion as of May 24, 2024. The company reported FY 2023 net income of $39 billion on $135 billion in revenue, nearly all of which came from advertising.
Meta has expanded far beyond its original social networking platform since its founding. Its products also include messenger services, photo and video sharing, augmented reality, and many other apps and services.
Acquisitions have been key to growing these businesses and Meta's revenue in general. Meta's strategy has been to buy potential rivals before they can get too big. In the process, the company sometimes has paid exceptionally high prices for some deals.
The company has also drawn attention from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) due to potential anti-competitive practices, with the FTC demanding data on unreported purchases from Meta as well as other big tech companies.
Below, we look in more detail at Meta's five biggest acquisitions. The company does not provide a breakdown of how much profit or revenue each acquisition currently contributes to Meta.
Key Takeaways
- Facebook is the world's most popular social media platform as measured by the number of monthly active users.
- Meta, the company that owns Facebook, also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, two other extremely popular social media platforms.
- The company has made many acquisitions over its history, including Onavo, which became Facebook Israel, and Belgua, which became Facebook's Messenger app.
- Type of Business: Photo and video-sharing app
- Acquisition Cost: $1.0 billion
- Acquisition Date: April 9, 2012
Instagram is a photo and video-sharing social networking platform that was launched in 2010. Through the Instagram app, users can upload, edit, and tag photos and videos.
The company remained independent up until it was acquired by Meta for $1.0 billion in 2012. Meta bought Instagram as the photo-sharing company was garnering significant attention from venture capital firms and other investors. Some estimates indicate that Instagram generates more advertising revenue than its parent company.
When it acquired Instagram, Meta opted to build and grow the Instagram app independently from Meta's main Facebook platform; Instagram remains a separate platform to this day. The price that Meta paid for Instagram, which at that time was generating no revenue, reflects Meta's willingness to pay a premium for young companies.
- Type of Business: Mobile messenger service
- Acquisition Cost: $19.0 billion
- Acquisition Date: Feb. 19, 2014
WhatsApp is a messenger and calling service available to users throughout the world. The platform was launched in 2009 as a low-cost alternative to standard text messaging services.
Throughout much of its history, WhatsApp has allowed users to send messages and make calls directly to other users for no cost, regardless of location. Users can also send photos, videos, and documents over the platform.
Meta bought WhatsApp at a time when the smaller company boasted more than 400 million active monthly users, making it a fast-growing potential rival to the Facebook network platform.
When Meta purchased WhatsApp, it was an independent company that had recently been valued at $1.5 billion. Although it is unclear exactly how much revenue WhatsApp generates, when it was acquired in 2014, WhatsAppgenerateda revenue of $1.29 million.
As of May 24, 2024, Meta is the seventh-largest company in the world as measured by market cap.
Oculus VR
- Type of Business: Virtual reality technology company
- Acquisition Cost: $2.0 billion
- Acquisition Date: March 25, 2014
Just weeks after announcing its acquisition of WhatsApp, Meta followed up by buying virtual reality hardware and software company Oculus VR. This company was founded in 2012 and is best known for its Oculus Rift product, a virtual reality headset that was designed for video gaming.
Since Facebook's purchase of Oculus VR in 2014, the subsidiary has made multiple acquisitions of its own. Perhaps the most prominent was the 2015 purchase of Surreal Vision, a company specializing in 3D scene mapping reconstruction.
At the time that Meta acquired Oculus VR, the company had only produced a development prototype of what would become its popular headset product. Meta's purchase of Oculus VR gave it an instant presence in the virtual reality market at a time when developers were showing growing interest in VR.
Onavo
- Type of Business: Mobile web analytics
- Acquisition Cost: $100–200 million (estimated)
- Acquisition Date: October 2013
Founded in 2010, Israeli company Onavo performs web analytics on other mobile apps to determine customer usage. Meta acquired Onavo in October 2013 for an undisclosed amount that some analysts estimated to be between $100 million and $200 million.
At the time of the acquisition, Onavo was an independent company. Although Onavo is not one of Meta's largest acquisitions, Onavo's technology may have allowed Meta to make crucial early determinations about other companies and apps to acquire. Onavo has occasionally been classified as spyware, forcing Meta to pull Onavo from both the iOS and Android app stores in the face of criticism.
Beluga
- Type of Business: Messaging service
- Acquisition Cost: Undisclosed
- Acquisition Date: March 2, 2011
Messaging app service Beluga, founded in 2010, was acquired by Meta a year later. Meta bought Beluga in the midst of the startup's fundraising process for an undisclosed sum.
In buying Beluga, Facebook acquired the technology that eventually became the social media company's highly successful Messenger platform. In the process, Meta again expanded its offerings and eliminated a potential rival.
How Many Acquisitions Does Facebook Have?
Facebook, now known as Meta, has made 97 acquisitions over the course of its history, spending over $28 billion on them. These acquisitions include WhatsApp, Instagram, Ozlo, Presize, and Supernatural.
What Was Meta's Biggest Acquisition?
Meta's biggest acquisition was WhatsApp in 2014, for which it paid $19 billion. WhatsApp is now the fourth most popular social media platform as measured by the number of monthly active users.
Who Owns the Most Stock in Meta?
The largest single owner of Meta stock is the investment management firm, Vanguard. Vanguard owns 7.56% of Meta's total shares outstanding.
The Bottom Line
Meta is one of the largest companies in the world and a leading technology firm. While it started out as Facebook, the company now owns and operates some of the largest social media platforms in the world, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, making it a true powerhouse in the technology world.
