- In a bid to advise WhatsApp, Morgan Stanley planned to emphasize the dangers of Google owning the messaging platform to Facebook execs, according to a Federal Trade Commision expert witness Jihoon Rim. Zuckerberg had reportedly been concerned about another company acquiring WhatsApp and its user base to build a social media platform, according to court documents.
If Google acquired WhatsApp instead of Meta (then Facebook), the search engine-driven tech firm would have threatened Facebook’s dominance in the world of social media. At least that was Morgan Stanley’s pitch when the bank sought to advise WhatsApp during acquisition talks, according to a Federal Trade Commission expert witness.
