Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) has initiated talks with several technology companies to explore selling itself, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday, signaling the start of what is likely to be a slow-rolling auction of the high-profile but money-losing social media company.
The sale of Twitter has been a subject of on-again, off-again rumors for many months as the company grapples with stagnant user growth, soft advertising sales and losses running at hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
The company’s business struggles have come even as the 10-year-old service has evolved into a potent global source of news, entertainment and social commentary.
CNBC on Friday citing anonymous sources, reported that Twitter is in talks with companies including Google and may receive a formal bid soon.
Twitter and Alphabet Inc, Google’s parent company did not respond to a request for comment.