Twitter shares jump on reports of possible acquisition offers
Twitter (TWTR) shares jumped double digits in Friday trading following reports that several companies, including Alphabet unit Google (GOOG) and Salesforce.com (CRM), may want to buy the Internet company.
CNBC’s David Faber reports that no sale is imminent but that there could be a deal by the end of the year.
Shares of Twitter, which has a market capitalization of $15.4 billion, have drifted up since July on speculation that it may be an acquisition target. Its shares, closed up $3.99, or more than 21 percent, at $22.62 a piece, are still far from their late 2013 peak of $69.00.
Technology site TechCrunch reported hearing that Microsoft (MSFT) and Verizon (VZ) might also be interested in Twitter.
“Verizon typically declines comment on M&A rumors,” said a spokesperson for the telecommunications giant. “However, there has been a rumor circulating that Verizon has made a standing offer for Twitter, and we have said on the record that this is entirely false.”
Microsoft’s $26.2 billion June acquisition of LinkedIn spurred new speculation of potential suitors for Twitter, with Salesforce, an unsuccessful bidder for LinkedIn, among the companies mentioned.
Despite its cultural currency as a communications platform favored by celebrities, politicians, companies and others in the public eye, Twitter has struggled to expand its wider user base. That’s a problem the company’s leadership has yet to address.
“Until Twitter is focused on attracting new users, driving increased use by its existing users and demonstrating its value proposition to people who don’t use the service, we expect it to grow very slowly,” analysts from Wedbush Securities said in a recent note. “We think that its service is too complicated and difficult to use for the average Internet user despite multiple changes.”