Winner in Facebook-WhatsApp deal? Lone investor Sequoia Capital

We’re not even two , and looks like 2014 is going to be the year of acquisitions. After the Google-Lenovo deal, most tech enthusiasts woke to yet another surprise with Facebook buying WhatsApp for a whopping $19bn - $4B in cash, $12B in Facebook shares and $3B in restricted stock units.   By all accounts, $19 billion is a huge amount for a company that is mere 5 years old and has slightly over 50 employees. But the biggest winner in this entire deal is Sequoia Capital, the venture capital firm that once had Mark Zuckerberg meet them in his pyjamas while seeking funding for a software.   According to this report in   TechCrunch , Sequoia Capital invested a mere $8 million in WhatsApp in 2011.   Unlike most startups that participate in several round of funding, WhatsApp didn’t announce any additional funding. This means, that as sole investor Sequoia Capital could walk home with a huge amount. Though this figure has not been disclosed yet, the latest rumours circulating the web say that it owns 10-20 percent of WhatsApp, translating to around $3.2 billion in cash and stock for its initial investment.   The article notes: Assuming Sequoia owns almost 20 percent of WhatsApp, its stake is now worth about $3 billion in cash and stock. The deal by itself could provide more than a 2x return on the $1.3 billion fund the initial WhatsApp investment came from, and represents a 50x return on its investment in the company.   The Verge reports that Sequoia Capital has invested $60 million in WhatsApp, which appears to be a larger amount than what the company has disclosed. In either way, it is walking away as the winner.   And this isn’t the first time that Sequoia has made money off Facebook. The venture capital fund had invested in Instagram before it was bought by the social networking giant in April 2012 for $1 billion.   Sequoia in a Tumblr post  acknowledged the role that they’ve played in the growth of WhatsApp and how, despite the fact that it was not so well known in the US, it’s simple, no-ads approach has earned it a worldwide following. It also  put it down to four numbers  why WhatsApp’s growth is exceptional.   In a parting note, Sequoia’s Jim Goetz wrote:   Our excitement about the opportunities that lie ahead for WhatsApp and Facebook is tinged with a little sadness, and a lot of nostalgia, for the pleasure and satisfaction that all of us at Sequoia have felt working with the company over the past three years.   From the time WhatsApp had fewer than ten users, Jan and Brian have been committed to building an enduring service. Now, on their way to a billion, they are just getting started.   And while there may be some sadness at the parting, the move has only boosted Sequoia and Goetz’s reputation with some even going so far as to call him  ’the new God’ of Silicon Valley .   According to the Wall Street Journal , the deal surpasses US West Media’s acquisition of Continental Cablevision, a provider of cable television and Internet services, for $11.8 billion in 1996. The report further says that, Groupon could have been another such large venture-backed acquisition had it agreed to the Google deal of $6 million in 2010.   An interesting story circulating the web to further boost the morale of startups is about WhatsApp’s co-founder Brian Acton and Facebook. Techcrunch has dug out some older tweets from 2009, showing how Brian Acton was rejected a job at Facebook . He soon teamed up with Jan Koum, co-founder and CEO of WhatsApp to build the messaging app. Today, Facebook has paid a record a sum to own that product.