I'm sure there is a very rational explanation for why WhatsApp appears to be worth $19 billion in February of 2014. To me (I'm going to try and explain this without using the "B" word), this has to be one of those deals that we look back in a few years and wonder what Facebook was thinking. The market seems to have a history of being stingy in granting assumptions. It seems like way too many optimistic assumptions went into this valuation, no matter how well-reasoned they might be. Not even the admittedly-brilliant executives in Facebook's management. These numbers seem to be assuming spectacular performance from WhatsApp's assets over the next 10 years, and no one has that kind of a crystal ball. Hubris is the only explanation I can think of.
They wouldn't have taken $12 billion, even $15 billion? What were the assumptions that went into Facebook's decision to spend $19 billion for a company that brought in $20 million in revenue during 2013? For the life of me, I cannot fathom how the WhatsApp founders were able to command that high of a premium.
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