14 DAY TRIAL // Due to constant pressure from Wall Street investors who want to see some improvements regarding the number of active users on the microblogging site, Twitter is bound to go the extra mile to make it happen.
A recent report from Re/code shows that the company has been in talks to buy Flipboard, the magazine-format mobile app launched in 2010 by former Apple iPhone engineer, Evan Doll and Mike McCue, the man who has been a part of the Twitter board before.
If the deal goes through, it would be a win-win for both sides given that the app is considered to have already reached its pinnacle sometime when iPads became increasingly popular but flatlined shortly after.
However, the same report indicates that, after the deal is concluded, there might be some changes in the management team as well, as the two founders of the app are expected to join the board. There are even speculations of a possible replacement of the current CEO.
Dick Costolo has mentioned on various occasions that despite the rough times that the company has been going through, he has the board’s full support and understanding. However, it’s been a while since the announcement of the unpleasant quarterly results and despite the CEO’s attempts to change figures, no considerable improvements have been made.
Both companies are bound to profit from the deal
Flipboard is in a similar situation, having encountered some issues in attracting more users, especially after the application no longer came as default on Samsung phones. So the acquisition of the app would not necessarily imply a sudden boost in the number of users, and both companies are perfectly aware of this.
Flipboard has been valued at around $800 million (€734 million), and Twitter is reported to be willing to pay up to $1 billion ((€0.91billion).
Furthermore, the same unnamed sources hinted that Twitter might not be the only Silicon Valley giant interested in the social magazine. Google and Facebook, the latter having recently been putting some effort in developing its news sector, might also be willing to make a bid for the app.