上个月有传言称，图片应用网站Snapchat拒绝了Facebook公司的收购要约。听说这个消息之后，我在投资意向书电邮里写了下面这些内容：

    最有意思的问题在于，Facebook的收购兴趣对Snapchat以高额估值募集更多资本这个计划的影响（这笔交易很可能会纳入更多创始人的流动资产）。一种说法是，表明别人相信这家公司的价值远比扎克伯格的出价要高，借此促使他提高出价。另一个、同时也是更可信的说法是，这种自我抬价是为了打消所有人，包括创始人和早期投资者（他们可能也能收回一部分现金），出售公司的念头。

    现在看来，后面这个说法好像是真的。

    Facebook一开始的出价据说在10亿美元到20亿美元之间，但今天《华尔街日报》（WSJ）报道称，扎克伯格后来把价码加到了30亿美元，却还是被拒绝了！

    乍一看，真是岂有此理。一个创建不到三年，还没有收入的公司居然拒掉了一笔估值是图片应用网站Instagram或轻博客Tumblr卖价三倍的收购要约！这个出价也是扎克伯格当初同意接受雅虎公司（Yahoo）出价的三倍，只是后来雅虎看走了眼，自己放弃了。

    不过这种豪气并不是没有先例。比如家喻户晓的一个例子，团购网站Groupon拒掉了谷歌公司（Google）的60亿美元出价。还有大家最近看到的尼克•比尔顿的做法，好像过去三年里，从扎克伯格到阿尔•戈尔都想买下Twitter公司。

    更重要的是，Snapchat和它的投资者似乎都深信自己的公司就是下一代社交网络的代表——而不是现在业界大佬的附庸。Snapchat是提供即时/一次性沟通服务的，它不会长期保存聊天记录。

    是的，这就意味着会出现色情短信。不过想想看，青少年时期大家总有一些不愿意公开（不光不想让父母看到，甚至连对自己的很多朋友都不愿公开）的聊天。而对千禧一代来说，这类沟通很多都是用照片、而不是通过声音（或是文本——除非是加些简短的字幕）进行的。

    When word came last month that Snapchat had turned down an acquisition offer from Facebook (FB), I wrote the following in the Term Sheet email:

    Most interesting is the question of how Facebook's interest is impacting Snapchat's plan to raise new capital at a big valuation (a deal that likely will include more founder liquidity). One theory is that it's an effort to make Zuckerberg increase his offer, by showing that others believe the company is far more valuable than his opening volley. An alternate – and more likely – theory is that this raise is to eliminate any temptation to sell the company, both for the founders and early investors (who may also get some cash back).

    Well, it seems to have been the latter.

    Facebook's original offer was said to be for between $1 billion and $2 billion, but today the WSJ is reporting that Zuckerberg later raised the stakes to $3 billion. And was still rebuffed!

    At first blush, it seems ridiculous. A pre-revenue company founded less than three years ago turns down a deal that would value it at 3X what either Instagram or Tumblr got. Or at up to 3X what Zuckerberg originally agreed to take from Yahoo (YHOO), before Yahoo mistakenly got cold feet.

    But there is some precedent. Groupon (GRPN), for example, famously shunned a $6 billion offer from Google (GOOG). And, as we recently learned from Nick Bilton, it seems that everyone from Zuckerberg to Al Gore has tried to purchase Twitter over the years.

    More importantly, Snapchat and its investors seem to believe that this company is the next generation of social networking -- not an add-on to the dominant incumbent. Snapchat is about immediate/disposable communication, not permanent record-keeping.

    Yes, some of that means sexting. But think about all of the conversations you had as a teenager that you wouldn't have voluntarily put out for public consumption (not only for your parents, but even for many of your friends). And, for millennials, a lot of that communication comes via photo, rather than via voice (or even text -- save, perhaps, for a quick caption).