OMG! Only 14 listed Indian cos valued higher than WhatsApp

How big is the Facebook-Whats App deal? Sample this: Only 14 Indian listed companies are valued more than WhatsApp. These big 14 are: TCS, Reliance, ITC, ONGC, Infosys, Coal India, HDFC Bank, Wipro, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, HDFC, HUL, Bharti Airtel and ICICI Bank. 

Companies like SBI, NTPC, HCL Tech, Larsen, Cairn India and M&M are valued less than WhatsApp as per Wenesday's closing price. Here's more: WhatsApp has been valued more than combined listed media and retail stocks of India.

WhatsApp is valued more than some of global corporate giants like: Alcoa (USD 12.2bn), Blackstone Group (USD 17.8bn), The Gap (USD 19bn), Harley-Davidson (USD 14.1bn), Marriott International (USD 15.4bn), Moody’s (USD 17.08bn), News Corp (USD 10.27bn), Nielsen (USD 17.6bn), Tiffany & Co. (USD 11.4bn) and Xerox (USD 13.2bn).*(*Source: NASDAQ)

(Also Check out: Before WhatsApp! 5 big ticket deals that changed social media) Social media was abuzz on Thursday, after Facebook Inc announced it will buy fast-growing mobile-messaging startup WhatsApp for USD 19 billion in cash and stock, as the world's largest social network looks for ways to boost its popularity, especially among a younger crowd. Facebook said on Wednesday it will pay USD 4 billion in cash and about USD 12 billion in stock in its single largest acquisition, dwarfing the USD 1 billion it paid for photo-sharing app Instagram. As part of the deal, WhatsApp co-founder and Chief Executive Jan Koum will join Facebook's board, and the social network will grant an additional USD 3 billion worth of restricted stock units to WhatsApp's founders, including Koum. In event the merger fails to obtain regulatory approval, Facebook has agreed to pay a breakup fee to WhatsApp of USD 1 billion in cash and issue to WhatsApp shares of Facebook Class A common stock equal to another USD 1 billion.

Some interesting numbers:

• USD 104 billion Facebook’s valuation at the time of its IPO. USD 16 Billion Amount Facebook raised in its IPO. USD 25 Billion Twitter’s valuation at the time of its IPO. USD 2.1 Billion Amount Twitter raised in its IPO. USD 1 Billion Price Facebook paid for Instagram in 2012. USD 8 Million Amount of capital invested in WhatsApp in 2011 by Sequoia Capital. 400,000,000: The number of active users, according to a December blog post from WhatsApp. 450,000,000: The number of active users, today, according to Facebook’s press release. 70%: Percentage of users who are active on the app on a daily basis. 1,000,000: The company says it’s adding more than 1 million new users a day. 945,000,000: Monthly active users on Facebook, as of Dec. 31. 230,00,000: Number of daily active users on Twitter. 50 The number of employees at WhatsApp Five: WhatsApp is the fifth most downloaded app on Android devices. Zero: Number of ads that appear on WhatsApp. The service doesn’t sell ads 

(By Sagar Salvi & Riken Mehta)