Facebook announced today the company has reached a “definitive agreement” to acquire Oculus VR, Inc. for a total of approximately $2 billion, which includes $400 million in cash and 23.1 million shares of Facebook common stock valued at $1.6 billion.
Oculus is the leader in immersive virtual reality technology and creators of popular virtual reality headset, the Oculus Rift. Through this acquisition Facebook plans to expand Oculus’ technology, which primarily includes gaming, into areas such as communications, media and entertainment, and education.
Facebook believes 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.”
Brendan Iribe, co-founder and CEO of Oculus VR., is excited about the future as well:
“We are excited to work with Mark and the Facebook team to deliver the very best virtual reality platform in the world… 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.”
More details are expected to emerge about this acquisition in the coming days and weeks.
To see a demo of Oculus’ virtual reality technology, check out the video below:
