While Twitter may still be up for grabs, it appears Apple, Disney, and Google won’t be making a bid for the short messaging service. Recode on Wednesday reported its sources tell them that all three companies have taken themselves out of the running.
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.
September saw reports indicating Twitter had received takeover overtures from several large tech firms, and that the messaging service’s board of directors was open to hearing offers. It was believed a deal might come by the end of this year.
With Apple, Disney, and Google out of the running, cloud computing firm Salesforce looks to be the best bet for acquiring Twitter, but so far has not commented on the speculation.
Twitter is scheduled to announce its quarterly earnings on October 27, and would love to have a deal set to go by then, but that possibility seems to lessen with each passing day. Twitter stock was down in after-hours trading.
