Facebook and Google have had low-level talks at Twitter about a potential acquisition of the micro-blogging service, according to a report.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported the talks had not been fruitful so far.
Google and Facebook have kept lines of communication with Twitter open, however, and both have expressed “latent interest” in making a bid, according to the contacts.
Twitter has increasingly been seen as a target for investors and the micro-blogging service has been valued at up to $US10 billion, the sources indicated.
Those same sources suggested Twitter secured revenues of $US45 million in 2010, with revenue this year expected to be over twice that amount.
Last December, Twitter was valued at $US3.7 billion after receiving $US200 million in fresh venture capital.
Although the Twitter valuation appears to be significant, it pales in comparison to the value of the biggest social network in the world: Facebook.
Mark Zuckerberg’s firm was recently valued at a massive $US50 billion after getting a substantial investment from Goldman Sachs and a Russian firm.
There have been significant investments elsewhere in the tech industry in recent months, one of the most notable being AOL’s $US315 million acquisition of the Huffington Post.
LinkedIn, meanwhile, recently filed to go public. The WSJ again cited sources familiar with the matter, who claimed the business networking site had a likely value of around $US2 billion.
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