On Monday, shares of social media company Twitter Inc. (NYSE:TWTR) are getting a boost, up almost 1.5% in afternoon trading after reports surfaced that the Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) is working with a financial adviser on possibly buying the struggling company. Bloomberg first broke the news, citing people familiar with the matter.
Speculation on if, and to whom, Twitter will be sold has been swirling recently, as both Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) and Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google division both reportedly expressed interest last week. As a result, shares of Twitter soared roughly 20% higher on the news.
If this deal goes through, Twitter will have the backing of a large, influential media company, and could increase its deals with network television to live stream events within its platform, as well as boost stagnant user growth.
Disney would then have at its hands one of the most-widely used social networking tools; its new media footprint would increase, and it could further its video-streaming business. The company has already invested in Hulu, digital media company Vice, and BAMTech, which allows Disney to offer an ESPN product to cord cutters.
Bloomberg notes that Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is on the board of Disney, something that could potentially pose a conflict of interest if bid talks are to continue.
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