Moving Pictures: Facebook's US$1bn Instagram Buy

摘要

Facebook has agreed to buy Instagram and its proprietary photonsharing/modification software in a cash and stock deal worth approximatelynUS$1bn. Facebook's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, notednthat Instagram would be highly complementary to Facebook'sncore social networking platform and help extend it into new socialnmedia platforms and connected devices. BMI believes the dealngives Facebook more opportunities to leverage user information,nparticularly advertising. And, with an initial public offering (IPO)nlooming, the deal will certainly help it appear even more alluringnto would-be investors. However, at US$1bn, it will be a long timenbefore Facebook sees a return on its investment.