Google and Facebook in for $8bn-£10bn Twitter buy
The internet phenomenon that is Twitter – unlike so many hyped start ups, is has continued to grow, in terms of reach, usability and social impact.
I must admit I have signed up for twitter but I don’t really use it. I can, however, see why it is so popular. You can find out what your favourite celebrity is up to on a daily basis (something that Facebook can’t really offer) and it is a great social media platform for businesses to gain followers and to advertise to.
Thanks to its startling growth and popularity – it is no surprise that internet behemoths Facebook and Google are interested in buying the company.
Executives from Facebook and Google have had preliminary meetings with Twitter in the past few months to discuss an acquisition of the popular micro-blogging site, according to a report inThe Wall Street Journal. The report cites people familiar with the matter as saying that the talks have gone nowhere so far, but that figures of $8bn to $10bn (£5bn to £6.25bn) have been mentioned.
Unsurprisingly, Google and Facebook have no comment to make.
The potential $10bn valuation for Twitter would be on the high side for a company which made just $45m (£28m) in revenue in 2010 and was valued at $3.7bn (£2.3bn) in December, according to the report.
However, investors have been flocking to the site. Around $200m (£124m) in new venture capital was pumped into Twitter in December, and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz announced yesterday that it had invested $80m (£50m).
This is not the first time that Facebook and Google have discussed buying Twitter. Reports in 2009 suggested that Google was close to making a bid in excess of £250m, for example.
The sources quoted by The Wall Street Journal said that all three companies have kept their lines of communication open, paving the way for a potential deal in the future.
It remains to be seen whether Twitter’s founders accept a deal, or decide go it alone like Groupon which recently rejected a $6bn (£3.7bn) offer from Google.
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