Facebook is Acquiring Instagram for About $1 Billion

From an Instagram Blog Post by CEO, Kevin Systrom:

Every day that passes, we see more experiences being shared through Instagram in ways that we never thought possible. It’s because of our dedicated and talented team that we’ve gotten this far, and with the support and cross-pollination of ideas and talent at a place like Facebook, we hope to create an even more exciting future for Instagram and Facebook alike.
It’s important to be clear that Instagram is not going away. We’ll be working with Facebook to evolve Instagram and build the network. We’ll continue to add new features to the product and find new ways to create a better mobile photos experience.
The Instagram app will still be the same one you know and love. You’ll still have all the same people you follow and that follow you. You’ll still be able to share to other social networks. And you’ll still have all the other features that make the app so fun and unique.

See Also: Clicking on a Fortune: Facebook to Acquire Photo-Sharing Start-Up Instagram for $1 Billion (via AllThingsD)
Note: This post also includes the full text of the Facebook news release announcing the acquisition.

“This is an important milestone for Facebook because it’s the first time we’ve ever acquired a product and company with so many users,” he [Mark Zuckerberg] wrote. “We don’t plan on doing many more of these, if any at all.”

See Also: Full Text of Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook Post re: Instagram
See Also: Exclusive: Facebook Deal Nets Instagram CEO $400 Million (via Wired)
See Also: Why Facebook plunked down $1 billion to buy Instagram (by Rafe Needleman, CNET)

The key win for Facebook here is mobile engagement. Instagram has rocketed to 30 million users in under two years. Facebook has had a mobile app for years but it doesn’t have the user love that Instagram does. By acquiring the best-of-breed mobile app — at least in terms of audience development — Facebook both takes out a future competitor and grows its mobile presence.

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