Choose a company for Meta to acquire next and defend its user and business value

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has bought several companies over the years, among them Instagram and WhatsApp. If you were advising Meta, what should its next big acquisition be? Recommend a target that would add value for Meta's users, for its business, or for both. Explain how you narrowed the field, why buying beats building or partnering in this case, and how you would judge whether the deal worked. ```hint Decide what the deal is for Before naming any company, settle what Meta most needs that it cannot easily build itself, and which of its apps or strengths the target would plug into. Keep in mind which kinds of deals would never get past regulators. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Should the acquisition mainly serve users, mainly grow the business (for example with revenue that does not come from ads), or is choosing that goal part of the exercise? - Is there a budget ceiling or a time frame for closing and integrating the deal? - Should the target strengthen one of Meta's existing products (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, its VR headsets), or may it take Meta into a new market? - How much antitrust risk is acceptable for a company of Meta's size? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A stated goal for the deal, grounded in where Meta is strong (reach, social graph, advertising) and where it is exposed (reliance on ads, trust and regulatory pressure) - Several candidate spaces compared on explicit criteria: user value, business value, fit with Meta's apps and distribution, cost and regulatory feasibility - A specific recommendation, either a named company or a precise target profile, with the case for buying rather than building or partnering - An integration plan and the metrics that would show success, with guardrails - The main risks: antitrust review, privacy and user trust, losing the acquired team, and overpaying ### Follow-up Questions - Regulators signal they will challenge your pick. What is your fallback, and could Meta get most of the value by building or partnering instead? - What would you look at one and two years after closing to decide whether the acquisition paid off? - How would you keep the acquired company's customers and key people from leaving once it is part of Meta?