Oculus VR is Facebook’s newest acquisition

Mark Zuckerberg has announced via blog post that Facebook will be acquiring Oculus VR, the maker of the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. This surprise purchase comes in at $2 billion, or $400 million in cash and 23.1 million shares of Facebook stock.

“Our mission is to make the world more open and connected,” said Zuckerberg. “We have a lot more to do on mobile, but at this point we feel we’re in a position where we can start focusing on what platforms will come next to enable even more useful, entertaining and personal experiences.”

With the two companies working together, Zuckerburg says that there will be a push in growth beyond gaming, focusing also on other areas such as communications and education.

However, as news of this acquisition reached Minecraft founder Markus Persson, he announced via twitter that the previously proposed plan for the partnership Oculus was cancelled. “Facebook creeps me out” offered Markus Persson for an explanation, hours after the Facebook deal became news. He is among many others who are displeased with the news.

Following closely the multibillion deal that Facebook recently made for WhatsApp, Facebook is assuring investors and everyone else that it will not be in the habit of grabbing up companies at this rate in the future. Zuckerberg said, in a conference call with investors, that “these are two kind of rare instances. Certainly the rate will not continue.”

He has made it clear that he is looking to acquire “rare” companies that have potential for huge growth, and have large exposure and use. For Oculus, the innovation and forward thinking of the company is what attracted the Facebook partnership, and the future holds potential for expansion.

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