Facebook’s $19bn deal fuels search for next WhatsApp

Facebook Inc (FB)’s purchase of WhatsApp Inc. for $19 billion is heightening the allure of other fledgling businesses, some of them little known in the US, that specialize in letting users send messages, Bloomberg reported.

At least one company, Tango, has fielded takeover advances, according to Eric Setton, Tango’s co-founder. Naver Corp.’s Line has received an offer from Softbank Corp. for a stake in the company, people with knowledge of the matter have said. Other messaging applications include Kik, KakaoTalk and SnapChat, the photo sharing tool whose parent rebuffed a $3 billion offer from Facebook last year. BlackBerry Ltd also operates a messaging service called BBM.

Possible buyers include Microsoft Corp and Google Inc, said Brian Blau, a social-media analyst at Gartner Inc. Both had expressed interest in acquiring WhatsApp, people with knowledge of the matter have said.