A list of names interested in potentially issuing an acquisition bid continues to flock Twitter. This comes amid speculation in recent months over the company's possible sale, stemming from its dipping stock, problems getting new users to its micro-blogging service on-board and a dismal advertising revenue.
Walt Disney Co. is keen to occupy a space in that list, joining Salesforce and Google, among the names in the list of possible acquirers.
"[Disney is] working with a financial adviser to evaluate a possible bid for Twitter," according to a report by Bloomberg, vouching the statement to an anonymous source. In layman's terms, Disney is currently in talks with an investment firm, combing through Twitter's financial records to look at possible advantages for Disney should it execute an acquisition.
Nothing is set in stone, however, as the process remains preliminary. Plans of this nature more often than not prompt companies to vacillate in excess, as with any business deals, so keep in mind that propositions at this juncture are at best speculative.
Given this, a number of reports continue to permeate the sales narrative, suggesting Salesforce, a cloud-computing company in San Francisco, and Google, who escapes introduction, were the first to be in the same situation now as Disney. Salesforce is reported to be working with Bank of America to consider a bid for Twitter, according to Bloomberg, citing sources who refused to be named given the sensitivity of the issue at hand. Furthermore, reports suggest that Twitter could go ask to up to $16 billion, a colossal estimate for the struggling company, but a figure that Disney can easily afford.
Twitter's share price had fallen in the past year by more than 50% but recent news of the potential sale scored Twitter an uptick in its share price to up to 21% on Friday, Sept. 23, in mid-day trading. Despite this, its share price is still lower than the $70 after its IPO back in 2013.
How Disney benefits from Twitter should a deal between the two push forward likely concerns Disney's ownership of ESPN. Disney can use Twitter to channel its sports, entertainment and real-time news output, acting as an outlet to deliver the content to its 313 million monthly active users.
Twitter's co-founder and chief executive Jack Dorsey has a seat in Disney's board, and he's no stranger to live sports, with Twitter streaming National Football League's Thursday night football games. Twitter's platform will be a perfect fit for Disney's broadcasting efforts. Robert Iger, Disney's chairman and chief executive, even noted how impressed he was with the setup.
"I checked it out, as did a lot of people, and I thought it was quite a good experience," Iger said during a Goldman Sachs conference on Sept. 21. "They did a good job."
The sheer amount of Twitter's user base, despite paling in comparison with Facebook's 1.5 billion, remains a wellspring of crucial data that can be used for advertising, and this is presumably the prime value of Twitter that Salesforce, Google and Disney want to take advantage of.
With more people shying away from cable TV subscriptions, replacing them with online streaming services instead, Iger has kept up with the pace by investing on the technology that's allowing this to occur. Iger has invested in Hulu, Vice and BAMTech, a platform that enables online video services.
As of this time, no representatives either from Disney or Twitter have made any public comments surrounding talk of the potential sale.
Photo: Josh Hallett | Flickr
