TechCrunch reports that Microsoft, Google, Salesforce, and Verizon are all potentially interested in bidding to acquire Twitter, though nothing is nailed down at this point. Others interested are said to include Google, Salesforce and Verizon. The social networking company’s board of directors are apparently looking forward to the deal with great interest states, states the report.
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Google, on the other hand, has experimented with social media but failed (remember Orkut, Google+?).
The social media site has faced growing criticism over earnings momentum, amid sluggish user and advertising growth.
Shares of Salesforce fell 5.6% on Friday, valuing the company around $48.5 billion. Twitter declined to comment in a statement to Bloomberg.
Before reports of the buyout talks emerged, Twitter’s shares had fallen by a third over the past year.
The $26bn purchase of the social network LinkedIn by Microsoft has helped to stoke speculation about the future of Twitter. Among them: Twitter’s “personal learning network”, and “the best real-time, context-rich news”.
For the second quarter through June, the company’s net loss narrowed to $107.2 million from $136.7 million a year earlier.
The company has also faced criticism for its failure to stem abuse on the platform and for missing the opportunity to play a bigger role in the red-hot messaging arena.
Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s CEO, speaks at a promotional event in NY on October 8, 2015.
Before today the company’s shares had fallen by 30% in the past year as the social network has struggled to attract new users, while newer social apps have eaten into its screentime. It now has 313 million monthly active users, way below Facebook’s 1.7 billion.
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Twitter has begun a turnaround effort built on video and live streaming video in the hopes users will flock to the service to watch sporting events and news. Shares are down approximately 50% compared to their IPO price.
