Twitter Reportedly Looking To Buy Article-Curating App Flipboard For $1B

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(Tom Raftery)

If you’re one of the largest social media networks in the world and happen to have $1 billion burning a hole in your pocket, what do you do? If you’re Twitter, you apparently start talks to buy article-sharing app Flipboard.

Talks between the two social media networks reportedly began back in January, but are currently in a stalemate, Re/code reports, citing sources close to the situation.

Twitter CFO Antony Noto allegedly initiated the talks after the company began facing pressure from investors to grow its audience and create new products.

Re/code reports that despite the apparently stalled nature of the talks, even entertaining an acquisition shows Twitter’s desire to continue evolving. The two companies are already in a partnership in which Twitter’s prmoted Tweets are syndicated to the article-sharing network.

While Twitter likely won’t see a significant jump in users if the deal goes through – mainly because there seems to be a large overlap in the networks’ users – it could benefit from Flipboard’s product team, including well-known entrepreneur and Flipboard co-founder Mike McCue.

According to Re/code, McCue was previously a Twitter board member but stepped down after growing competition between that network and Flipboard.

Still, Flipboard brings its own growing set of issues. While the company previously boasted 100 million “activated” users, Re/code reports those numbers have leveled off since the company’s app no longer comes automatically downloaded to Samsung phones.

Additionally, the company has failed to find a foothold when it comes to selling ads, instead engaging in a number of experiments such as video ads and “promoted items.”

Twitter Has Held Talks to Acquire Flipboard [Re/code]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist