Facebook Inc to acquire Oculus virtual reality headset maker for US$2-billion

Test

Facebook Inc. said it will buy virtual-reality technology company Oculus VR Inc. for about US$2 billion, in its first push into mobile hardware.
The deal includes US$400 million in cash and 23.1 million Facebook shares, as well as an additional US$300 million if the acquisition achieves certain milestones, the Menlo Park, California-based company said in a statement today. Oculus, based in Irvine, California, makes a ski-goggles-like device that people wear to play games and access other immersive virtual-reality experiences.
Facebook is building its mobile business with acquisitions as the more than 1.2 billion members of the world’s largest social network increasingly use the service through smartphones and tablets. The company purchased mobile photo-sharing application Instagram in 2012 for about US$700 million and last month agreed to buy mobile messaging app WhatsApp Inc. for about US$19 billion.
The deal pushes Facebook into the wearable-technology market where it will compete with Google Inc.’s Glass, which are spectacles that have smartphone capabilities. The Oculus product could become the basis of a communications platform, letting people watch games courtside, consult with doctors or take online courses, Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said in a post on Facebook.

Financial Post