Twitter in talks with Google and Salesforce about a potential sale

After nearly four quarters of disappointing growth and stale profits, Twitter executives are reportedly in talks with multiple tech companies over a complete buyout. CNBC reports that the companies most interested in acquiring Twitter are Alphabet (Google’s parent company) and Salesforce (a customers relationship management company).

Twitter started out as a very promising startup and it attracted a lot of interest from both investors as well as general public. Despite the initial uptick that Twitter has enjoyed for the past few years, it is now finding it difficult to stand its ground in a sea of other social networks like Facebook and Instagram. In its most recent quarterly report, it posted its slowest revenue growth since going public in 2013 and issued a lackluster outlook.

Twitter has been tinkering with various methods to entice users to its platform, including revising character limit restrictions and making the platform more user-friendly. Nothing seems to be working, though, with Twitter reporting an increase of only 11 million active users in Q2 2016 as compared to what it had in Q2 2015.

News of Twitter’s potential sale was met with positive response from investors. Twitter’s shares went up 20 percent as soon as news of sale started floating. According to people close to the situation, Twitter’s board of directors is said to be largely desirous of a deal. There’s no assurance a deal will materialize, but one source close to the conversations said that they are picking up momentum and could result in an announcement of the deal in a few days.

It remains to be seen whether a change of ownership will be able to breathe new life into this unique platform. No matter which hands do the mantle pass, we’ll make sure to update you on the latest information regarding this developing news.