As Snap makes its case to investors on the public market, it disclosed some details that had long been pondered by pundits and analysts: How much did it pay for its acquisitions? According to its S-1 filing, the company revealed that it spent $150.6 million for Looksery, $64.2 million for Bitmoji maker Bitstrips, and $114.5 million for a “mobile search company” (Vurb).
It should be worth noting that the amounts mentioned above are in total compensation, so it’s a mixture of cash and stock.
Starting with Looksery, the mobile video communications company was picked up in 2015 with the intentions of beefing up Snap’s camera lenses. Snap said the total purchase consideration was $79.4 million, but it also provided an additional $71.2 million. Out of the latter amount, $43.6 million was in the form of restricted stock for employees with the remainder being issued in cash.
Bitstrips was the next startup acquired in 2016 and users are likely to immediately recognize the impact — those colorful avatars it has, called Bitmojis, are now supported on the ephemeral messaging app and geofilters. It was reported that Snap paid $100 million, but in the S-1, the actual amount was $64.2 million, with $46.6 million in cash and the rest in non-voting Class A common stock.
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Another acquisition that some have wondered about was Vurb. Snap didn’t explicitly name it, but described it as a mobile search company. The total purchase consideration was $114.5 million, of which $21 million was in cash and the rest in non-voting Class A common stock. In August, it was reported that Snap paid $110 million for the startup.
But these weren’t all the startups that were integrated into the Snap fold, but the aforementioned trio were the only ones apparently material enough to mention. The company shared that it paid $47 million in 2016 for various companies, including a “research and development-driven computer vision software company” along with others in the areas of “software and advertising technologies.”
As Snap approached today, it made some effort accelerating its acquisition strategy, doubling down on startups it felt would boost its chances at a successful IPO and better future.
