Social microblogging site is probably up for sale, reports of multiple corporations lining up bids
Twitter has had some really rough years in the past. Although a high-profile social network, it’s user base hasn’t been growing as expected and there have been years with a flat revenue growth. Add on top of that its history of letting abuse exist and lack of measures against terrorism, and somehow this information makes more sense – Twitter is up for sale.
According to multiple reports, the San Francisco-based microblogging giant is in talks with multiple companies including Google regarding an acquisition and there might soon be a formal bid announcement. Sources also report that other big names like Salesforce, Disney, and even Microsoft are in line. The takeover reports that have hit the web are already causing a sharp rise in Twitter stock prices, with a 19 percent jump pushing the company’s market value to over $16billion.
With rivals such as Instagram and Snapchat picking up both the users as well as the ad revenues, this news comes in the light of the question that how long will Twitter be able to survive as a standalone company. Looking at all the bidders, one might say that Alphabet, Google’s parent company, might benefit the most from this acquisition since their own social networking efforts have not been successful. Google’s data mining technology could harness the news and information aspect of Twitter for its own betterment.
On the other hand, Disney could be looking to expand its now growing media and entertainment business with this acquisition. Over the past years, Disney has shown a great track record with its successful Lucasfilm and Marvel acquisitions. With ESPN, ABC and ABC news also under its folds, Twitter looks like a perfect place for Disney to promote news, but the struggle to monetize might post a hindrance.
The most interesting bid rumor has been about Salesforce. The company, which was also one of the frontrunners for the Linkedin bidding, is reportedly looking to use Twitter as a corporate tool to power sentiment analysis and build customer relationships. Putting to use big data and other analysis techniques, it could gain a better understanding of how brands interact with customers.
Microsoft, on the other hand, recently acquired Linkedin. Combining Linkedin with Twitter could be an interesting idea and might just push Microsoft at the forefront of business communications and networking.
None of the companies above have given any confirmation regarding a potential bid. It would be interesting to see which company is ready to pay the price for Twitter, considering that it is yet to show a net profit in all its operational years. But what is more interesting is the fact that Twitter as we know it might change entirely
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