Report Suggests Apple Planning Twitter Takeover

Dennis Faas's picture

According to popular blog TechCrunch, Apple is in the process of finalizing a sales pitch for Twitter that would see them acquire the microblogging platform for an estimated $700 million. The report comes off the heels of a different rumor suggesting that Apple is also in the process of securing the popular computer-game maker Electronic Arts.

Rising Popularity to Explain Apple's Interest

Oprah and Ashton Kutcher are not the only ones using Twitter. The social networking haven has attracted new users by the hundreds each day since its inception back in 2006.

While Apple declined to comment on the possible transaction, many believe that their silence is a clear indication that some of the talks may be true. (Source: physorg.com)

However, when questioned, Twitter representatives were not so secretive regarding their future plans. Their voice has been amplified ten-fold in the past few weeks, thanks in large part to several media appearances made by Twitter cofounders Biz Stone and Evan Williams.

When Stone visited the daytime talk show "The View" he looked into the camera and without much hesitation told Barbara Walters that "[Twitter is] not for sale!" (Source: siliconvalley.com)

Report Questionable

TechCrunch was also the news medium that said Google was in the "late-stages" of securing a deal to purchase Twitter some time ago. TechCrunch returned later to inform their reading audience that the offer was refused by Twitter cofounder Evan Williams.

Twitter investors believe that an Apple takeover is not probable, though most would agree that you can never say never in the tech business.

Others call the rumors absolutely ridiculous. Their main concern is that Twitter is free, meaning that the service is not incurring revenue from its users (obviously the service makes its money in other ways). In this author's opinion, Twitter would have very little to gain from being associated with Apple.

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