Vine still has a shot at survival after all, as Twitter is said to be looking through offers made by potential buyers and is hoping to reach a sale agreement soon for the service.
TechCrunch learned about Twitter's vetting of several term sheets from companies interested in Vine from multiple sources. The company apparently received a large number of offers, including several coming from Asian companies.
TechCrunch was not able to confirm any of the companies that have expressed interest in purchasing Vine. However, one of the rumored bidders is Line, a messaging and gaming company based in Japan.
Twitter's Vine Shutdown Announcement
Late last month, Twitter announced that it is closing down Vine, which the social media company acquired in October 2012 before it even launched. The video service, which popularized the six-second video clip format that promoted creativity, was said to be shut down over the coming months.
A report released a few days later revealed many of the problems that plagued Vine, along with the last-ditch effort of some of the service's top content creators to save it. The group sent Twitter a proposal to ensure Vine's future, but things did not pan out, and Twitter ultimately decided to close down the service.
The Future of Vine
One of TechCrunch's sources claim that at least some of the bids that Twitter received for Vine are lower than $10 million, which means that the social media company will not be generating significant revenue from a sale of Vine.
However, even if Twitter sells Vine to another company, it can still benefit from the service if the buyer would maintain Vine's deep integration into Twitter. Vine videos instantly play on Twitter streams, boosting user engagement through the six-second content.
In addition, if Vine continues its presence on Twitter, brands might choose to purchase more ads on Twitter to reserve spots for Vines promoting them.
Vine Sale Coming Soon?
With several suitors in buying Vine from Twitter, the question is why Twitter decided not to put up Vine for sale in the first place.
If the reports of offers less than $10 million are true, it could be because the company did not think that it would be able to gain much from selling Vine compared to simply shutting it down. These offers seem to prove that point.
However, the support for Vine and outcry against its shutdown increased the interest of potential buyers, and Twitter seems to have reconsidered such a move to please the service's fans.
