Facebook’s head of mergers and acquisitions this week recounted the company’s acquisition of Instagram as calls for the breakup of the social media giant continue to drum up, reported CNBC.
“I want to acknowledge that in some ways we absolutely considered Instagram a competitor,” Amin Zoufonoun, Facebook’s vice president of corporate development wrote in a post on Monday. “Since there has been a fair amount of chatter on that point, I think it is important to explain a little more about this.”
Zoufonoun was an integral part of Facebook’s US$1 billion purchase of Instagram in 2012, hammering out the details of the deal over the course of a weekend with CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The deal came after rival Twitter made a US$500 million bid for the photo-sharing startup.
In his post, Zoufonoun wrote that Instagram was not alone competing in the mobile photo-sharing space. He highlighted other rivals at the time including Foursquare, Path, VSCO Cam, Viddy, and Snapseed.
“It was a highly volatile space and it wasn’t at all clear who would stick around and who would fade away,” he wrote.
Zoufonoun also wrote that many analysts and critics doubted Facebook’s ability to compete in the mobile market, even after the deal was closed.
“Our hope was to bring together social networking and mobile photo sharing,” he said. “But without question, this was a big, unproven bet at the time.”
Full Content: CNBC
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Judge Mehta Questions Both Sides in Landmark Google Antitrust Case
May 2, 2024 by
CPI
FCC Urges Urgent Funding for Removal of Chinese Telecom Equipment from U.S. Networks
May 2, 2024 by
CPI
Former Pioneer CEO Facing Potential Criminal Charges For Colluding With OPEC
May 2, 2024 by
CPI
South Korea’s Antitrust Regulator Greenlights K-Pop Powerhouse Deal
May 2, 2024 by
CPI
Exxon’s Pioneer Purchase Approved, Former CEO Barred from Board
May 2, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Economics of Criminal Antitrust
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Navigating Economic Expert Work in Criminal Antitrust Litigation
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
The Increased Importance of Economics in Cartel Cases
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
A Law and Economics Analysis of the Antitrust Treatment of Physician Collective Price Agreements
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Information Exchange In Criminal Antitrust Cases: How Economic Testimony Can Tip The Scales
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI