Salesforce CEO says no to Twitter bid
Shares plummet on news that Twitter will continue to be independent.
It's official. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff told Financial Times that it will not be bidding on Twitter. On news that the CRM company was pulling out of the running, the social network's stocks tumbled six percent.
During an Interview with FT, Benioff said, "in this case we've walked away. It wasn't the right fit for us." Salesforce was the last big name in the running to bid on Twitter. Google and Disney had already removed themselves from potentially buying the company.
Earlier this month Reuters reported that Twitter was pushing to have a sale decision by October 27th. An incredibly aggressive plan for any company, especially one that's seen user growth nearly flatline and struggles to make a profit. Meanwhile, not everyone inside the blue bird is happy about a potential sale.
Internally, there's a split over staying independent versus seeking a new owner. According to Bloomberg, CEO Jack Dorsey prefers for Twitter to keep plugging along on its own. Meanwhile co-founder and board member Ev Williams believes an acquisition would be ideal.
We have reached out to Twitter for comment on Benioff's statements. It had not replied to our query as of the publication of this article.
