Facebook recently picked up WhatsApp for a bonkers $16 billion (plus $3 billion for WhatsApp staff and founders), now the company is said to be in talks with a whole other kind of company with an eye on acquiring them.
Facebook, according to a TechCrunch report, is meeting with a company called Titan Aerospace with possible acquisition in mind. Titan Aerospace is a drone manufacturer that specialises in solar-powered, high-altitude drones that the social network is apparently planning on using to distribute wireless internet access to places around the world that need it – a lot like Google’s Project Loon.
Titan Aerospace’s drones are able to stay in the air for five years at a time, something that would help Facebook’s internet distribution ambitions.
The initial report set the price for the drone maker at $60 million, a fraction of Facebook’s WhatsApp purchase.
TechCrunch has since clarified their report to say that, while the original source for this information was not supposed to have access to it, they have since confirmed via a Titan board member that discussions are taking place between the two parties.
Source: TechCrunch via Engadget