If you've been keeping up with the news this week, it's all about Twitter and its potentially imminent sale.
The social media giant has struggled to become as ubiquitous as Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Intsagram, and others have, remaining more of a niche network of choice that many have simply never caught on to. As a result, the publicly traded company continues to face pressure from investors to monetize more effectively and keep pace with user growth expectations.
When news broke that Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) was shopping itself around, the stock price immediately embarked upon the current uptrend that TWTR finds itself in. A company that found itself trading in the $13s is now near $23 as of yesterday's close.
As it stands, here are the most likely buyers according to those in the know:
- Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)
- Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
- Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:CRM)
Who would benefit the most from a Twitter purchase? Let's weigh the value that Twitter would bring to each of these companies.
Disney
While your first reaction may be one of surprise, Disney is a media conglomerate, and Twitter has made some recent inroads in the online streaming space. With assets that include ABC and ESPN, not to mention its film empire, Twitter offers the company a real-time media streaming platform that would facilitate conversation and interaction in a way that no other medium currently can. This is TV of the future and it's no surprise that Disney's into it.
Google
One thing immediately comes to mind when weighing the value proposition that Twitter offers to Google: real-time search. With everything in Google moving in the direction of immediacy and convenience, it makes perfect sense for Google to acquire the world's best and biggest real-time search engine. Sitting on a boatload of cash never hurts either.
Salesforce
This one seems the weirdest of the bunch, but less so when you remember how close Salesforce came to acquiring LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD). Like LinkedIn, Twitter acts as a great source of networking and lead gen for many in the business world.
A few tweaks and Salesforce integrations could make business communication over Twitter highly profitable to sales organizations. This, in and of itself, could conceivably fund the cost of an acquisition within a matter of just a few years.
So who wins? Hard to say, but I'd see this as a huge victory for Salesforce. Users of Salesforce are already doling out money and the plug and play potential gives a Salesforce/Twitter marriage the most potential in my mind.
What's most interesting about this analysis is the distinctly unique value that Twitter could bring to each of these organizations in its own way. If anything, it goes to show how versatile the platform is despite its own ability to figure itself out.