Google "closing in on Twitter"

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 3 Apr 2009 at 09:19

Google is reportedly in "late-stage negotiations" to acquire social-networking flavour of the month, Twitter.

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TechCrunch claims that two separate sources close to the negotiations have confirmed a deal is on the cards.

Google has long been rumoured to be interested in buying Twitter, which was recently valued at $250 million following a fresh injection of venture capital.

The cash-rich search giant may have to pay well over that valuation to secure an outright purchase, although as it's shown in the past, it's certainly not reticent when it comes to signing big cheques. The company paid $1.65 billion for YouTube back in 2006, although Google admitted as recently as last year that it was struggling to turn a profit from the video site.

Twitter is itself struggling to find a revenue stream. Last month, the site announced it would introduce paid-for accounts for businesses, although companies such as Dell had previously suggested they would abandon the site if they were forced to pay for the service.

Twitter turned down a reported $500 million bid from rival Facebook just a few months ago. Facebook has since introduced Twitter-style status updates for both personal and business users.