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takyon writes:

Re/code reports that potential buyers of Twitter, Inc. have backed away:

According to sources close to the situation, Google does not currently plan to make a bid for Twitter. While the search giant has been among the buyers considered most likely to be a contender for the social communications company, those familiar with the deal said that the company was not moving forward with an effort to buy it at this time.

In addition, several sources Recode has spoken to this week also said that Apple was unlikely to be one of the possible suitors, with one saying Twitter should have "low expectations" of getting an offer from the tech giant. Update: Disney, which had also considered a bid, is not going to make an offer, according to sources familiar with that company. That should tamp down the frenzied speculation around a possible Twitter sale since Salesforce began no-commenting noisily with regard to possible interest in acquiring it a few weeks ago.

Rumors followed by rumors have caused a rise and fall in Twitter's stock price:

Twitter Inc. shares plummeted on Thursday after it became apparent a sales process for the sputtering social-media company might not draw as many suitors as investors had hoped. Twitter stock, which had been marching steadily upward since news of a possible sale surfaced in September, fell 20% to $19.87. That brought the stock within 7% of where it traded before the leak. [...] Google's absence from the auction is a particular blow for Twitter. It has much deeper pockets than either of the other two possible suitors, and Alphabet sports a market value of more than $500 billion. Its dominance in search and advertising caused some analysts to speculate Google would be best suited to buy Twitter and find a way to make money off its legions of users.

Since launching its initial public offering in 2013, a series of management upheavals, product delays and muddled business strategies have complicated Twitter's effort to capture the world's mobile users and wring revenue out of them. The shares traded as high as $69 soon after the debut but have faded as growth in users and revenue slowed.

Previously: Disney Considering Bid for Twitter

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