It has been reported by The Information that Snapchat – the popular social media platform is allegedly finalising a deal which would see them acquire recommendation app Vurb for $110 million plus additional team retention pay-outs equalling about the same amount.

Vurb brings together information from other apps and recommendations from people so that users can find places to eat, things to do, books to read, etc. The 5 year old San Francisco start-up was founded by Bobby Lo who is also the company’s CEO. It is also backed by a number of high profile investors such as Redpoint Ventures, Tencent, Marc Benioff and Dropbox CEO Drew Houston to name a few. Although the app boasts a number of really useful features, it hasn’t really taken off in a big way. However it has been reported that Snapchat’s interests appear to lie within the Vurb team, which is highly regarded within the sector. That would certainly explain the high rentention pay-outs.

The Information reports that Snapchat’s acquisition will be 75% stock and 25% cash with Bobby Lo receiving about $75 million as part of a multiyear retention package. Neither parties would however provide a comment on the acquisition.

Snapchat has recently seen rival Instagram add its “Instagram Stories” feature which allows users to upload content on to the platform for 24 hours before it is automatically removed. Many users felt that Instagram had copied this feature from Snapchat and on the surface, they certainly appear the same. Many of Snapchat’s avid users were quick to point out that they would be sticking with Snapchat, which exclusively features the Snapchat filters that have taken over social media since their launch a few months ago. The filters definitely add an element of fun and I cannot wait to see what Snapchat has up its sleeves, if this acquisition is anything to go by.