Article content

The company behind popular mobile messaging app Snapchat reportedly turned down a US$3-billion cash takeover offer from FacebookCEO Mark Zuckerberg, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Citing people familiar with the matter, Snapchat co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel is said to have rejected the bid alongside another offer from Chinese e-commerce company Tencent – a US$200-million investment that would have valued the company at roughly US$4-billion.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Snapchat turns down US$3-billion cash takeover from Facebook: report Back to video

Rather, Mr. Spiegel is reportedly not considering any acquisitions or investments until at least early next year, with the hope that Snapchat’s volume of users and messages will grow enough in the coming months to justify an even larger valuation.

It is apparently the second time Facebook has made such an offer, following a previous US$1-billion bid, and would have been its largest acquisition since purchasing Instagram for nearly US$1-billion in 2010.