Facebook sends $3 billion offer, but Snapchat rejects

Messaging service Snapchat has turned down a US$3 billion acquisition offer from Facebook, according to people close to the matter.

Reported first by the Wall Street Journal, CEO Evan Spiegel is alleged to have declined the mega-bucks deal for the app, which was created in 2011 as a university project.

"The offer, and rebuff, came as Snapchat is being wooed by other investors and potential acquirers," wrote the WSJ.

"Chinese eCommerce giant Tencent Holdings had offered to lead an investment that would value two-year-old Snapchat at $4 billion."

According to the WSJ, 23-year-old Spiegel will not consider an offer for the company until at least early next year.

"Spiegel is hoping Snapchat's numbers – of users and messages – will grow enough by then to justify an even larger valuation, the people said," WSJ reported.

Speaking to the BBC yesterday, Spiegel claimed the business is "enjoying being an independent company", while adding that "we certainly don't think monetization is terrible."

If Facebook had been successful with the offer, it would have been CEO Mark Zuckerberg's biggest purchase, blitzing the $1 billion in cash and stock deal for Instagram in April 2012.