Google Near Deal to Acquire Twitter: Insiders

Two insiders put price well above $250 million
By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 3, 2009 7:00 AM CDT
Google Near Deal to Acquire Twitter: Insiders
Evan Williams, one of the founders of Twitter. Sources tell TechCrunch that Google is set to acquire the microblogging site for well above $250 million.   (©Tyler Howarth)

Google is in the last stages of acquiring Twitter for a price well above the microblogging site's recent $250 million valuation, reports industry blog TechCrunch, citing anonymous sources. Twitter recently rejected a $500 million offer from Facebook—although much of that price was in stock that may be overvalued. A rep from Google refused to comment on "rumors and speculation."

Two sources say that Google is nearing completion of the takeover, while a third says that discussions have just begun. TechCrunch's Michael Arrington speculates that Google may see Twitter as a "real time database and search engine" that would fill a gap in Google's business model. If the deal goes through, it will be the second between Google and Twitter founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone; Google bought their site Blogger five years ago. (More Google stories.)

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