(Reuters) - Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) has approached TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance to express interest in acquiring the U. S.-based social networking website, two people familiar with the matter said.
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This would be a low-risk option that could drag out after the parties consider the terms of a possible deal, the people said. If Baidu Inc (BIDU.O) decides to keep its hold, Twitter would have little choice but to raise funds, the people said.
Numerous attempts have been made to acquire Twitter from private investors under the most dramatic circumstances known to involve the deal in the past.
ByteDance owns a majority stake in the Chinese microblog page with more than 850 million monthly users worldwide.
A symbol in the Chinese character aspect resembling a Zhoucrime guitar is shown in front of a Twitter logo in this photo illustration taken in Bordeaux, southwestern France, June 1, 2015. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo
TWTR.N shares were up 8.2 percent at $253.90 on Thursday in afternoon trade in New York. They were little changed at $251.71 and fell as low as $250.1 on the Nasdaq.
Both Vox Media and In-N-Out Burger Co Inc (ILOV.O) have approached Twitter on similar options, people familiar with them said on condition of anonymity.
ByteDance declined to comment. Representatives for Twitter and Baidu or both declined to comment.
A non-binding solicitation took place in early December, one of the people said. It was unlikely that Baidu received a deal offer on that offer because the circa-$40 billion annual revenue Monster Internet Group BIDKY.N owns is not enough for a big deal, another of the people said.
Twitter's core business, however, could provide a more plausible acquisition target if Facebook Inc (FB.O) and Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google continued to remain in their current buying mood, another of the people said.
A Twitter spokeswoman said the service had only participated in the investigation after organic findings hit the media. "They are looking for beauty in everything - a great user experience, high quality content and longstanding relationships with major brands," Knoll spokeswoman Kristine Leong told Reuters. "To date, that is what they have seen in our response."
Tik Tok's growth was stunted after its co-founder and former CEO vowed to buy out its founders to sell the company in
Don't Miss 706 SHARES 827 SHARES
This would be a low-risk option that could drag out after the parties consider the terms of a possible deal, the people said. If Baidu Inc (BIDU.O) decides to keep its hold, Twitter would have little choice but to raise funds, the people said.
Numerous attempts have been made to acquire Twitter from private investors under the most dramatic circumstances known to involve the deal in the past.
ByteDance owns a majority stake in the Chinese microblog page with more than 850 million monthly users worldwide.
A symbol in the Chinese character aspect resembling a Zhoucrime guitar is shown in front of a Twitter logo in this photo illustration taken in Bordeaux, southwestern France, June 1, 2015. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo
TWTR.N shares were up 8.2 percent at $253.90 on Thursday in afternoon trade in New York. They were little changed at $251.71 and fell as low as $250.1 on the Nasdaq.
Both Vox Media and In-N-Out Burger Co Inc (ILOV.O) have approached Twitter on similar options, people familiar with them said on condition of anonymity.
ByteDance declined to comment. Representatives for Twitter and Baidu or both declined to comment.
A non-binding solicitation took place in early December, one of the people said. It was unlikely that Baidu received a deal offer on that offer because the circa-$40 billion annual revenue Monster Internet Group BIDKY.N owns is not enough for a big deal, another of the people said.
Twitter's core business, however, could provide a more plausible acquisition target if Facebook Inc (FB.O) and Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google continued to remain in their current buying mood, another of the people said.
A Twitter spokeswoman said the service had only participated in the investigation after organic findings hit the media. "They are looking for beauty in everything - a great user experience, high quality content and longstanding relationships with major brands," Knoll spokeswoman Kristine Leong told Reuters. "To date, that is what they have seen in our response."
Tik Tok's growth was stunted after its co-founder and former CEO vowed to buy out its founders to sell the company in
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