Google and Twitter talk acquisition

Google and Twitter may be in late-stage negotiations to acquire Twitter.  Or it is early-stage and the two are simply talking about working on a real-time search engine.

Regardless, Tech Crunch quotes multiple sources that Google wants Twitter. If a deal goes down, it would likely be cash and/or stock and some number north of a rumored valuation of $250 million. Facebook offered $500 mil, but that was an all-stock deal, so Twitter took a pass.

Twitter's value is in real-time search and its huge community of users and brands. The collection and analysis of information embedded in all of those Tweets in real time is big bucks; skip ads and proceed directly to time-sensitive data mining.

For more:
- Tech Crunch stirs the pot on a Twitter/Google deal. Post.

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