Eric Schmidt Was Just Asked If Google Bid $10 Billion For WhatsApp - Here's His Response
Schmidt was asked about Google's interest in the messaging app Facebook acquired for $19 billion, WhatsApp.
First, Schmidt said the acquisition price was low - if Facebook can figure out how to monetize WhatsApp's 460 million active users.
"People have been talking about a bubble in technology for years," Schmidt said. "The price was low if they make gazillions of dollars off of the customers they're getting…The price is too high if they can't monetize."
When asked if Google bid on WhatsApp, Schmidt replied: "Not in the way you're thinking about. We're certainly aware of them."
Schmidt was then asked about a specific report, which said Google offered $10 billion for WhatsApp before Facebook outbid it. Schmidt smiled and said, "Let me not talk about this specific conversation with WhatsApp. Let's just say that we like WhatsApp...and we like some other things too including our own products."