However, a report this week suggests the San Francisco-based company is currently showing a serious interest in acquiring a startup you’re almost certain to know – Flipboard. According to Re/code, Twitter has been involved in “an ongoing series of talks” with Flipboard in a bid to seal an all-stock takeover deal that’d value the company behind the popular magazine-style news app at more than a billion dollars.
Twitter chief financial officer Anthony Noto is said to be particularly keen on the idea of acquiring Palo Alto-based Flipboard, though insiders claim a deal has yet to be inked. It’s not immediately clear why Twitter would be interested in getting its hands on Flipboard, though its co-founder and boss, Mike McCue, is a highly regarded figure in Silicon Valley.
Besides bringing McCue’s brains on board, it’s possible deeper integration between Twitter and Flipboard could help the social media company to boost its slow-growing user base, which currently stands at just over 300 million. Flipboard’s user base, which is thought to be around 100 million, could also benefit from tighter integration.
Twitter may also be interested in the news apps’s curation tools, or be keen to get hold of the technology behind its ad products. Either way, there appears to be no deal on the table just yet, though if it happens we’ll be sure to update.
