Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is the latest company
rumored to be in talks to buy venture-backed Twitter Inc. Last month, the blogosphere briefly had Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in late-stage
negotiations to buy Twitter.
"Sometimes we talk," blogged Twitter co-founder Biz Stone to squash the rumor. Apparently the talks are with a lot of companies about a lot of deals.
Facebook Inc. tried to buy the increasingly popular microblogging service for $500 million last year, but talks
broke down over what the privately held social networking company is worth, Facebook investor Peter Thiel told BusinessWeek.
The latest rumor has Apple trying to pay $700 million for Twitter, which has raised $55 million in venture capital. But simultaneous with
reporting that sources say talks are under way, bloggers including TechCrunch's Michael Arrington say other sources say no they're not.
Quite frankly, it would be surprising if Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT)
weren't all vying for Twitter. Over the last year, tweeting has become a national craze akin to the Hula-Hoop in the 1950s. Twenty-five million people are using Twitter currently. Everyone from talk show host Oprah Winfrey -- who
devoted a show to the topic -- to New York Times business reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin -- who
live-tweeted the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) annual meeting on Saturday -- are giving it a twirl. Make that Thwirl, although, actually I
use TweetDeck. You can follow me on Twitter
@MKFlynn.
Incidentally, Apple and Google are in other news Tuesday morning, with The Wall Street Journal
reporting that the Federal Trade Commission is investigating overlaps in the boards of the two companies. Google chief Eric Schmidt and Arthur Levinson, the former chief executive of Genentech Inc., serve on both boards. -
Mary Kathleen Flynn
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