Apple talked with Twitter about investment

DHAKA: Apple Inc. talked in recent months with Twitter Inc. about making an investment in the social media site in the hundreds of millions of dollars, the New York Times reported.

On Friday, the Times, citing unidentified people briefed on the situation, said there are no talks ‘at the moment’ and there is no guarantee an agreement will be reached, Bloomberg reports on Saturday.

Such an investment, the newspaper said, could value Twitter at more than $10 billion. Spokesmen for both companies declined to comment to the Times.

Apple’s discussions with Twitter were more than a year ago, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

here are no current formal investment or acquisition talks between the companies, it said.

Twitter, while still smaller than online rivals Google and Facebook, expects to generate at least $1 billion in sales in 2014, two people with knowledge of the matter have said.

Researchers at EMarketer Inc. have said that in 2014 Twitter advertising sales, which account for almost all its revenue, will rise to $540 million from $139.5 million last year.

The closely held company doesn’t release sales figures.

Twitter has stepped up a campaign to induce marketers to devote more of their advertising budgets to its service, which lets users post messages of no more than 140 characters to followers.

Twitter, which unveiled its first advertising offering in 2010, has recently expanded mobile-advertising services.

BDST: 2010 HRS, JUL 28, 2012

Edited by Robab Rosan, Cultural Affairs Editor