Twitter is purported to be in talks with top tech companies for a possible acquisition deal.
Some of the names thrown into the mix are Google, Microsoft, and Verizon. Even Salesforce has been rumored to have thrown in a bid.
"Twitter has received expressions of interest from a number of technology companies that are considering whether to make a bid for the social media company, and its board of directors is said to be largely desirous of a deal, according to people close to the situation," reports CNBC. "While Twitter may receive a formal bid shortly, it has thus far engaged with potential suitors who are examining the possibility of a deal and Twitter's willingness to engage on that possibility."
TechCrunch also says, according to its own sources, that bids from Verizon and Microsoft to acquire Twitter are also coming in.
"We have additionally heard that Microsoft and Verizon have also been knocking," writes TechCrunch.
News of the possible acquisition caused Twitter stocks to skyrocket by 19 percent at the moment of writing and by 21 percent earlier in the day. This is quite significant considering that Twitter was recently downgraded from market perform to underperform.
A recent RBC Capital Markets survey revealed that more business entities are planning to reduce their ad spending on Twitter than those who would want to increase it.
"Twitter believes it can command premium ad pricing, but its dramatic ad revenue deceleration doesn't support that," says an analyst.
The strong buzz about a possible Twitter buyout is precisely because of this outlook. The presence of Instagram and Snapchat also doesn't help Twitter since advertisers who formerly spent on the microblogging platform are now opting for the photo- and video-sharing services.
Twitter failed to meet Wall Street's Q2 2016 revenue estimates and also lowered its projected revenue for Q3 2016. However, it appears that the current suitors are unaffected by this and are aggressively pursuing Twitter.
It is unclear what the suitors' plans are for Twitter, granted that they acquire it. Questions also surround how they would use Twitter in relation to their existing products and services.
Twitter has recently implemented a customer support feature that identifies whether a Twitter account is for customer service. It lists business hours and also offers direct messaging. This suggests how the platform may be subsumed by a company like Salesforce in an effort to expand the buyer's footprint in customer service.
As of Q2 2016, Twitter is reported to have 313 million monthly users.
