By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 12th, 2024
Kustomer allows businesses to interact with their customers through different channels.
Social media company Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB) has acquired customer relationship management (CRM) startup Kustomer. Though the acquisition’s financial terms were not officially revealed, a reliable source said that the deal is worth over $1 billion.
Facebook Buys Kustomer
On the 30th of November, Facebook announced that it had reached an agreement with Kustomer to buy the CRM startup. The new acquisition was revealed in a press release by VP of ads and business products Dan Levy and Whatsapp chief operating officer Matt Idema.
Kustomer allows businesses to interact with their customers through different channels. Furthermore, the announcement highlighted the role of communication between companies and clients in this digital age. Facebook said the new acquisition is to support Kustomer’s business and provide satisfactory services to clients using Facebook’s messaging platforms. The company explained;
“Our goal with Kustomer is simple: to give businesses access to best-in-class tools that deliver excellent services and support.”
Also, Facebook added in the announcement that over 157 million people use WhatsApp to contact various businesses.
Expressing its excitement with the new deal, Facebook said:
“We’re excited about what the future holds with Kustomer, and we hope to welcome co-founders Brad Birnbaum and Jeremy Suriel and the rest of the Kustomer team to Facebook soon.”
As noted in the announcement, the transaction is still subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval.
Currently, Facebook is $278 with a 0.37% rise. The social media company has climbed 39.31% in the last twelve months. Also, Facebook has grown nearly 35% since the beginning of 2020. Also, FB increased by 4.40% over the past month and 0.02% in the last five days.
Despite recent additions, however, Facebook declined by 6.25% over the last three months.
UK Government to Launch New Codes to Curb Facebook Dominance
According to recent reports, the UK government plans to curb Facebook’s dominance in the tech market. The British government will set up an antitrust unit Digital Markets Unit (DMU), a part of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The DMU will enforce “a new code to govern the behavior of platforms that currently dominate the market, such as Google and Facebook.”
With the new rules, the UK government hopes to implement stricter rules that will restrain the two tech giants from overriding growing startups. According to a CNBC report, the antitrust unit will begin operation in the coming year.
Before now, the CMA said that the increasing use of digital advertising by Google and Facebook may affect other businesses.
Also, the DMU will also have the power to order Facebook and Google to adhere to the new regulation. In a case where either of the tech giants fails to comply with the codes, the company may face financial penalties.