Twitter, launched in 2006 has become one of the popular social networking services available. It is up for sale and its acquisition is creating a lot of buzz in the world of web and creating a lot of humdrum after CNBC reported that both Google and Salesforce are bidding to make an offer for the company. Reports suggest that Twitter wants to finalize negotiations with a right partner before 27th Oct this year.
Though rumors also say that however this microblogging and social networking website, Twitter is looking for a buyer but contenders like Google, Apple, and Disney who all seem to be interested in buying Twitter will now not be buying the company.
So, there are still doubts who will be coming together. According to Recode report, Twitter’s board may be asking for up to $30billion.
However the interest of taking over Twitter seems real but it is observed that if Twitter continues to struggle with its key metrics, the price tag is expected to go down. This brings every one of us to think, why would anyone want to buy a company like Twitter?
Let us have a look at contenders of buying Twitter.
Contenders With Speculations
Salesforce
Salesforce, an entity which sells cloud-based customer service software and sales and marketing software to enterprises is also a potential buyer of Twitter. Market experts also say that Salesforce may use Twitter for mining business intelligence data and focus on customer support.
Disney
Film giant Disney has also expressed interest in buying Twitter. The reason behind the same is hard to see at first but it perhaps becomes a little clearer if we consider when Twitter recently broadcast NFL American Football night games over the internet. It was a business which Disney’s ESPV TV sports division knows very well. Jack Dorsey, co-founder and CEO of Twitter, has also been a board of member of Disney since 2013, speculated that Disney may take over Twitter.
Microsoft
Microsoft is also weighing a bid of buying Twitter. While a merger with LinkedIn has more chances of building a social network which can compete with Facebook, now the efforts of Microsoft are in its enterprise businesses.
The US telecom giant, Verizon, is also sniffing around for this buyout deal. Taken over AOL and agreed to take over Yahoo in last 18 months, if this deal happens, it would become third largest online property which could fit in the challenger list of Google and Facebook. Along with this it will also mean buying another struggling technology enterprise.
Why Google?
Google, obviously has massive online presence but the company has struggled hard in expanding its social media front. As such Google has failed to compete effectively with Facebook in social media spaces, therefore allowing Facebook to dominate. Buying Twitter is one way for Google to grow on social media front massively and in one go.
The main revenues at Twitter come in form of advertising revenues and Google is a market leader in online advertising space, therefore, Twitter could certainly find growth from Google’s existing online ad businesses.
Reports say that it would make a great sense for Google to acquire Twitter and make developments and innovation in social media domain. Here we have researched and ruled out why Google could be the best buyout scenario for Twitter:
1. Data
With taking over Twitter, Google would gain data of more than 300 million people, therefore, helping Google to improve the relevance of results on YouTube and also on its own search engine. This will eventually improve Google’s ad pricing.
2: Customer Relations
Twitter being used by numerous big brands and small enterprises is likely to engage with their customers, therefore Google if opting for this buyout deal can enjoy great customer relationship building benefits. These relationships are increasingly valuable to Google, as consumers are migrating from search to messaging and then smart assistants.
3: Developer Tools
The most overlooked asset of Twitter is Fabric which is nothing but a collection of mobile developer tools. Fabric helps mobile app developers with everything from analytics to monetization. It is being used in more than two billion installed apps. Tinder, eBay, Spotify and others are some big profile users’ name. Tools like Fabric seems great for Google as it makes easier for developers to build apps for smartphones. More importantly, it would offer Google a big chance to get foothold in apps installed on millions of iPhones therefore, giving company the make money even if consumers decide to buy Apple phone.
4: Social Media Expertise
Remember Google+? If not, you are not the only one. Some years ago, Google’s most notable fail was the launch of its own social media platform, If this buyout process of Twitter from Google happens, it could get another chance to capture the social media space. Squali says that if this tie-up happens it would immediately position Google as one of the main global social media platforms. Acquiring Twitter could give Google the foundation to start over on social media domain and use it as a launchpad for a modern mobile social service.
Just About Sold
Although Twitter has millions of its users and its popularity has increased in the past decade, but it has struggled hard in past few quarters in order to increase its numbers further. It seems that before Twitter announces its third quarter financial results by the end of October, it might just find its right partner if not a new owner.
References: variety.com, ibtimes.co.uk, business.financialpost.com, techtimes.com, telegraph.co.uk
Ajeet Singh
