Snapchat has held talks about selling a stake to Chinese internet group Alibaba as part of a funding round that could value it at more than USD 10 billion, people familiar with the discussions told the Financial Times. However, the discussions with Alibaba have not progressed far and a deal looks like a long shot as the Chinese internet company gears up for its own initial public offering, one of the source said. "It is highly unlikely to happen," the report said.
The conclusion of any new financing for Snapchat, as well as the terms, were also said to remain uncertain. While one person indicated that there had been talk of valuing Snapchat at USD 10 billion, another said that could be too high, while a third said that the figure could be considerably higher given the huge popularity the network is gaining among its mostly young user base. The Los Angeles-based company was founded on the idea of sending images that self-destruct after a few seconds, though it has since extended the service to create features that have a longer shelf life.
