Hasta La Creative!

Facebook has just agreed to shell out $16 billion in a cash and stock deal to acquire the messaging service WhatsApp — 16 more times than it first agreed to pay for Instagram.

The reason that Facebook was willing to spend so much more boils down to a single but sprawling thing: WhatsApp’s global user base. Though the app is still somewhat under the radar in the U.S., it said in December that it has 400 million monthly active users, and Facebook said Wednesday that the figure was now 450 million, 70% of whom are active on any given day.

The scale is impressive — five months ago Instagram said it had 150 million monthly active users — but it also means Facebook is now willing to spend $36 per active user to extend its reach among young people.

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