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 |  Subject: Facebook Acquires VR Company Oculus  Thu Mar 27, 2014 6:55 pm | |
| Facebook Acquires VR Company Oculus for $2 Billion Facebook today announced the acquisition of Oculus VR, Inc. Best known for the Rift, Oculus specializes in VR technology. It’s quite the purchase, and we can only wonder what Facebook would want to do with VR technology. Still, some folks don’t seem too happy. Kickstarter backers (the Oculus Rift headset began as a Kickstarter project) have already spoken up. Developers, like Markus “Notch” Persson, creator of Minecraft says he’s lost interest in the Oculus Rift thanks to the purchase because, he says, “Facebook creeps me out.” Other developers, such as Doom co-creator John Carmack tweeted, “For the record, I am coding right now, just like I was last week.” He is currently the Chief Technical Officer of Oculus VR (a position he left id to join. Carmack founded id Software with John Romero back in 1991.) Here’s the press release from Facebook: - Quote :
Facebook to Acquire Oculus
Acquisition positions Facebook to accelerate Oculus’ growth in gaming, communications and new social experiences
MENLO PARK, CALIF. – March 25, 2014 – Facebook today announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Oculus VR, Inc., the leader in immersive virtual reality technology, for a total of approximately $2 billion. This includes $400 million in cash and 23.1 million shares of Facebook common stock (valued at $1.6 billion based on the average closing price of the 20 trading days preceding March 21, 2014 of $69.35 per share). The agreement also provides for an additional $300 million earn-out in cash and stock based on the achievement of certain milestones.
Oculus is the leader in immersive virtual reality technology and has already built strong interest among developers, having received more than 75,000 orders for development kits for the company’s virtual reality headset, the Oculus Rift. While the applications for virtual reality technology beyond gaming are in their nascent stages, several industries are already experimenting with the technology, and Facebook plans to extend Oculus’ existing advantage in gaming to new verticals, including communications, media and entertainment, education and other areas. Given these broad potential applications, virtual reality technology is a strong candidate to emerge as the next social and communications platform.
“Mobile is the platform of today, and now we’re also getting ready for the platforms of tomorrow,” said Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. “Oculus has the chance to create the most social platform ever, and change the way we work, play and communicate.”
“We are excited to work with Mark and the Facebook team to deliver the very best virtual reality platform in the world,” said Brendan Iribe, co-founder and CEO of Oculus VR. “We believe virtual reality will be heavily defined by social experiences that connect people in magical, new ways. It is a transformative and disruptive technology, that enables the world to experience the impossible, and it’s only just the beginning.”
Oculus will maintain its headquarters in Irvine, CA, and will continue development of the Oculus Rift, its ground-breaking virtual reality platform.
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2014. |
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