Facebook Buys Oculus VR
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.
Now, this was out of left field. Oculus was ripe for an acquisition, but the idea that Facebook would be the company to do it never crossed my mind at all. I’m really interested to see how this plays out. Incidentally, this now means Carmack works for Facebook.