WASHINGTON: Google has refuted reports that it approached WhatsApp for an acquisition before Facebook grabbed it.

Senior vice-president in charge of Chrome, Android, and apps, Sundar Pichai said that it was 'simply untrue' that Google had offered to buy the popular messaging service.

It was rumoured that Google had offered a reported $10 billion, almost half of Facebook's $19 billion for WhatsApp, CNET reports.
 
Although, there had not been any formal bid from Google, it doesn't necessarily mean that the search giant wasn't interested in a deal, as media reports had earlier pointed that WhatsApp was asking Google for $1 billion, while the messaging service formally denied this.

Meanwhile, another report had indicated that Google CEO Larry Page met with WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan Koum in an attempt to convince him not to hook up with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.