 |
| Source: Techfirst |
The Twitter acquisition talks are slowly, but surely,
picking up momentum. Till a few weeks back, Google, Disney and Sales force were
being considered as strong contenders for the buyout, but according to Recode,
Google currently has no plans to make a bid for Twitter. Apple, which was also
being speculated to make a bid, is an unlikely candidate now. And there are
reports confirming that Disney too is out of the race thereby leaving just Sales
force in the running.
Google which was considered to be a likely candidate to make
the bid, had even hired the services of Lazard Ltd, an investment bank, to
evaluate the option as well as see how it compared with other potential bidders
such as Walt Disney and Sales force.
Twitter itself hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Allen &
Co to attract potential buyers after it got feelers from Sales force.
Twitter itself hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Allen &
Co to attract potential buyers after it got feelers from Sales force.
Twitter sale is
happening
Both Recode and Wall Street Journal confirm that the twitter
is definitely on the table. In fact WSJ said that Twitter is expected to field
bids this week. Reuters reports that Twitter has told its potential acquirers
that it is seeking to conclude negotiations by selling itself by its third
quarter earning call on 27 October according to its sources.
The timeline is quite ambitious considering Twitter only
began sale consideration last month. According to Reuters, this is Twitter CEO
Jack Dorsey’s way to providing clarity to its shareholders and employees over
the company’s future.
Sales force CEO Marc Benioff has been building a case to
convince Sales force investors why it makes sense for the company to buy
Twitter. Apart from being a well known consumer brand, Twitter also sits on a
pile of data which can be used to advantage by a CRM such as Sales force.
Benioff considers Twitter to be an ‘unpolished jewel’ with
untapped potential. According to him Twitter hasn’t cracked the potential in
advertising, e-commerce and other data-rich applications which are important
components for future growth.
“I’m looking hard at unique data-rich companies and what I
can do to make them more powerful and innovative if combined with Sales force,”
Benioff had said in a recent interview.
Twitter’s data trove can be used by the CRM leader to mine
data for artificial intelligence driven analysis as well as let Sales force
offer more services in sales, marketing and e-commerce. Sales force does integrate Twitter in many of
its cloud services for corporate customers.
But according to reports, Benioff is now downplaying his
enthusiasm at the company’s annual Dream force event. According to Business
Insider, Benioff said that Sales force looks at everything and it doesn't buy
most things. “We haven’t agreed to buy that company… it’s an unpolished jewel.
I think it’s a great brand and I just wish Jack [Dorsey] very well…good on his
company, that’s how I look at it today,” said Benioff.
Sales force investors not really convinced
However, it seems like Salesforce investors are not yet
convinced. There were reports that Salesforce stock had fell by 5.5 percent
after CNBC announced that the company along with Google had shown interest in
buying Twitter. The Street reports that as of Wednesday, the Salesforce share
price is still down by 5 percent after Benioff called Twitter an ‘unpolished
jewel’ and still believed in turning Twitter around after acquiring it.
So it seems like no one wants to buy Twitter at the moment –
Salesforce CEO has been flip-flopping on the issue. Since none of the potential
buyers or Twitter have issued official statements regarding the purchase, there
is no clarity as to whether the sale will even happen. Twitter revenues for the
second quarter this year has been around $602mn.
No comments:
Post a Comment