Zuck reportedly approached Evan Spiegel about a possible acquisition less than a year before Snap went public

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• In 2016, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reached out to Snap CEO Evan Spiegel to discuss the possibility of an acquisition, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Sunday.
• Snapchat infamously turned down a $3 billion acquisition offer from Facebook in 2013.
• Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg also reached out to Snap board members to determine their interest in a possible acquisition, according to the report.
• An exact purchase price was not discussed and no formal offer was made at the time.
• The talks occured right as Snap was gearing up for an IPO that it expected to give it a $25 billion-plus public valuation. Today, Snap's market cap is around $6.5 billion.

Snapchat infamously turned down a $3 billion offer from Facebook in 2013. But according to a Wall Street Journal report on Sunday, that wasn't the only time Facebook tried to buy Snapchat.

In mid-2016, Zuckerberg reached out to Snap CEO Evan Spiegel to discuss the possibility of buying the Santa Monica- based company, less than a year before its March 2017 IPO. But those attempts were dismissed by Spiegel, according to the Journal's sources.

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The Journal also reports Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg reached out to Snap board members to measure their interest in a possible acquisition around that time.

An exact purchase price was not discussed, and according to a person familiar with the matter from the report, the 28-year-old CEO never received a formal offer from Facebook during the discussions. The person close to Speigel also said he has no regrets that the deal didn't materialize.

Around the time of the talks in 2016, Snap was expecting to IPO at a $25 billion-plus valuation, according to the report. Today, almost two years after its 2017 IPO, its market cap is around $6.5 billion.

Read more: FBI agents reportedly visited ex-Snap employees at home as part of an investigation into IPO disclosures

The Journal report on Sunday also highlighted the recent struggles for Snap, including a botched app redesign, the departure of key executives, and users leaving by the millions. Last Friday, Snap's stock closed below $5 for the first time.

Read the full Journal report here.

Spokespeople for Facebook and Snap did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.