Source: Yahoo Is Investing $20 Million In Snapchat
Earlier today, the Wall Street Journal broke the news that Yahoo, the corporate equivalent of Remember the 90's is "close" to investing in Snapchat, the fratty harbinger of our ephemeral future, at a $10 billion valuation. A source told Valleywag the amount Yahoo is investing is only $20 million and that the deal has closed.
I've reached out to Snapchat and Yahoo and will update the post if I hear back. According to Bloomberg, the round includes other investors and will value the company at $10 billion.
Yahoo is the lead investor in the financing and set the terms of the round, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers has also invested in the round, people with knowledge of the matter have said.
The Journal says Yahoo is hoping for another Alibaba:
By betting on Snapchat, Yahoo may be looking to repeat its success investing in Alibaba. Yahoo paid $1 billion for a 40% stake in the Chinese e-commerce company in 2005, an investment that has yielded a massive stake worth tens of billions of dollars and helped Chief Executive Marissa Mayer buy time with shareholders while she attempts to turn around the struggling core business.
Wonder how Starboard Value, the activist investors harping on CEO Marissa Mayer's poorly-performing acquisitions, will feel about her trying on a venture capital hat.
Bloomberg predicted this $10 billion valuation back in July. Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel has lied about outside interest in acquiring the company before. According to a Delaware state filing from last November, Snapchat, which was first released in 2011, was "worth" $2 billion. The filing was part of a $50 million investment from a little known hedge fund called Coatue Management, so we know Spiegel has taken funding from unexpected sources before.
An earlier version of the post stated that Bloomberg broke the news, but the Wall Street Journal had it first. If you have any information about the deal, please email nitasha@gawker.com.
[Image via Getty]