TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentral TechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Floods blamed as gov’t falls behind in set-top box roll-out

      24 June 2022

      Vumacam announces big Jo’burg expansion drive

      24 June 2022

      Eskom crisis spirals: stage-4 power cuts this weekend

      24 June 2022

      Illegal strike at Eskom could make load shedding worse

      24 June 2022

      State capture probe ends but South Africa remains ‘broken’ by corruption

      23 June 2022
    • World

      Amazon has a plan to make Alexa mimic anyone’s voice

      24 June 2022

      Apple, Android phones hacked by Italian spyware

      24 June 2022

      Zendesk nears buyout deal with private equity firms

      24 June 2022

      Crypto crash survivors could become ‘tomorrow’s Amazons’

      23 June 2022

      Tether to launch a stablecoin tied to the British pound

      22 June 2022
    • In-depth

      The great crypto crash: the fallout, and what happens next

      22 June 2022

      Goodbye, Internet Explorer – you really won’t be missed

      19 June 2022

      Oracle’s database dominance threatened by rise of cloud-first rivals

      13 June 2022

      Everything Apple announced at WWDC – in less than 500 words

      7 June 2022

      Sheryl Sandberg’s ad empire leaves a complicated legacy

      2 June 2022
    • Podcasts

      How your organisation can triage its information security risk

      22 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E06 – ‘Apple Silicon’

      15 June 2022

      The youth might just save us

      15 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E05 – ‘Nvidia: The Green Goblin’

      8 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E04 – ‘The story of Intel – part 2’

      1 June 2022
    • Opinion

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022

      Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

      13 June 2022

      A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

      19 May 2022

      From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

      19 April 2022

      How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

      8 April 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»Top»Twitter in talks with several potential suitors

    Twitter in talks with several potential suitors

    Top By Agency Staff25 September 2016
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email

    twitter-640

    Twitter is holding informal talks with several potential buyers after receiving interest from Salesforce.com, people familiar with the situation said.

    Twitter’s board met several weeks ago after hearing from Salesforce, said the people, who asked not to be named because the information isn’t public. Twitter then hired Goldman Sachs and Allen & Co to solicit other potential buyers as well as Salesforce, the people said. Salesforce didn’t make a formal offer, according to the people.

    While there’s no assurance an acquisition will happen, sale talks could accelerate into a deal in a matter of weeks, one of the people said. Twitter is also working with Goldman on options besides a full sale, like a divestiture of non-core assets, one of the other people said.

    Twitter’s stock has fallen after several quarters of slowing growth, putting it in play as a potential takeover target. The company is still attractive because of its data, user base and influence in politics, culture and the media.

    Twitter recently expanded into live video streaming, making it possible for some users to watch American National Football League games for free, with Tweets related to the game appearing alongside the video. It’s making similar deals for content related to politics, business and entertainment.

    Twitter co-founder and board member Ev Williams fuelled takeover speculation last month when he said in an interview that the company has “to consider the right options.” He was responding to a question on Bloomberg TV about whether Twitter can remain an independent company.

    This is the second time this year that Salesforce has jump-started a sales process of a large social media company. Salesforce expressed initial interest in acquiring LinkedIn, according to people familiar with the matter, ultimately leading to a sale to Microsoft.

    Twitter shares surged 21% to US$22,62 on Friday after CNBC reported the company had received expressions of interest from several technology or media companies and may get a formal bid shortly.

    Twitter could provide Salesforce with similar benefits to LinkedIn. Though Twitter is typically considered a consumer product, the social media company’s 313m monthly active users include many professionals — people who Salesforce customers already may be targeting for potential deals. Its data may help improve the Salesforce software that companies use to manage customer relationships.

    More than 70% of sales professionals use social selling tools, including LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, to help close a deal, build stronger relationships and expand revenue, according to a LinkedIn report. And Salesforce itself in 2014 said Twitter was the “largest cocktail party in the world”, according to a post on its website.

    Twitter may appreciate merging with a technology company as opposed to a media company, where it may have conflicts over content. 21st Century Fox, Comcast, Time Warner and AT&T are not interested in buying Twitter, according to people familiar with those companies’ strategies. And any acquirer would face challenges turning Twitter around, or moulding its strategy to suit new priorities.

    “Microsoft’s LinkedIn acquisition has raised speculation of a Twitter takeover, though weakening user metrics and lack of clear strategic buyers suggest it wouldn’t command the same premium,” analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence said in a note.

    Salesforce.com and Google have been identified as potential buyers of Twitter
    Salesforce.com and Google have been identified as potential buyers of Twitter

    Based on the value of Microsoft’s LinkedIn deal, Twitter is worth $16,7bn, excluding cash, Bloomberg Intelligence estimated. Twitter share gains Friday left the company with a market value of $16bn, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

    News of Salesforce’s potential interest helped send the software company’s stock down by 5,6% to $70,39, its lowest closing price since March. Analysts at Stifel argued against a deal in a note entitled: “An Open Letter to CRM: You Don’t Need to Buy the Cow.”

    “We see little reason why Salesforce.com needs to outright own an advertising-driven business model with stagnating user growth and decelerating revenue growth at a price point that would likely be” more than $15bn, the analysts wrote.

    Twitter is often rumoured as a takeover target, especially for Google, which has considered and then decided not to acquire the company over the years. Google aspires to be the main provider of information, and the rise of social media in the form of Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and others has created a massive source of new data that is mostly out of the reach of its search engine.

    Google already partners with Twitter to show recent tweets in its search results, and has worked to integrate Twitter with its DoubleClick advertising service. Twitter last year added Omid Kordestani, a former Google executive, as an executive chairman of its board.

    Representatives for Salesforce, Alphabet and Twitter declined to comment.  — (c) 2016 Bloomberg LP

    Ev Williams Google Salesforce.com Twitter
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleHlaudi paid R11,4m bonus: report
    Next Article Broken cabinet steering SA to disaster

    Related Posts

    Amazon has a plan to make Alexa mimic anyone’s voice

    24 June 2022

    Apple, Android phones hacked by Italian spyware

    24 June 2022

    Zendesk nears buyout deal with private equity firms

    24 June 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    Watch | Telviva One: adapting to the requirements of business

    24 June 2022

    Huawei P50 now available for pre-order in South Africa

    23 June 2022

    Calabrio paves way for SA’s cloud contact centre WFO journey alongside AWS

    23 June 2022
    Opinion

    Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

    21 June 2022

    Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

    13 June 2022

    A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

    19 May 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.