Google 'in $250 million bid for Twitter'
Twitter are reported to be in talks with search engine Google
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Friday, 03, Apr 2009 05:03
Google is reportedly in "late stage negotiations" to buy social networking site Twitter in a deal valued at $250 million (£170 million).
Technology website TechCrunch reported the rumours yesterday, citing two unnamed sources close to the deal who said an agreement was close to being reached.
Twitter founders Evan Williams, Biz Stone and Jack Dorsey have a history of buyout deals with the world's biggest search engine after they sold their Blogger website to them five years ago.
Based on 140 character messages or "tweets" in answer to the question "What are you doing?" Twitter has seen its popularity soar in recent months as the latest trend in social networking.
It can be accessed from the web, mobile phones or through instant messaging, but the site has struggled to find ways to pull in revenue.
Bosses reportedly turned down a $500 million (£339 million) bid for the site from rival Facebook last year, but announced last month they would start charging for business accounts.
TechCrunch later reported a third source had confirmed discussions between Google and Twitter were taking place, although they suggested talks were at a fairly early stage and were not necessarily considering a straight forward buyout.
Other options include the two companies working in partnership to create a real-time search engine.
A spokesperson for Google said: "We do not comment on rumour or speculation."
Google also have a history of buying up successful smaller sites, paying $1.65 billion for video sharing forum YouTube in 2006, although the company recently admitted it has struggled to turn a profit from the site.