Chris Sacca, one of Twitter’s earliest investors, said he would love to see the micro-blogging site acquired, as that could push innovation at the social media platform. Twitter, which has been struggling to increase its user base, was in the middle of intense takeover speculation with both Google and Salesforce, but nothing came out of it.
Twitter could benefit from acquisition
Both Google and Salesforce were once reportedly taking an interest in acquiring the social media company, but in mid-October, those takeover speculations came to an end. However, there are still voices that feel the social network should be bought, and Sacca, who feels the social media platform could benefit from being acquired, is one of them
On Wednesday in a TV interview with CNBC, Sacca said he would love to see the micro-blogging site in an acquisition position or a partnership with a company, “just so they would get a little more product vision, maybe freedom to experiment and take some risk, because we just haven’t seen that out of this team.”
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has put a huge emphasis on live video to push growth. The micro-blogging site signed a deal earlier this year to live-stream Thursday night NFL games. In addition, the social network has experimented with broadcasting other sporting events. The CEO sees live video as a way of attracting advertisers and new users to the platform.
Live video is compelling, but the company is not leveraging its strengths to boost the experience, said Sacca. The problem is that the social network has not yet created a “great Twitter-specific complimentary experience to live video,” the investor said. He believes the company needs to make it uniquely valuable by creating great high-quality tweets to go along with the game but that it hasn’t gotten there yet.
What’s blocking the acquisition?
When Dorsey took control in 2015, the tech giant was struggling with several issues which still have not been solved. Stalled growth, online harassment, abusive users and hate speech are a big issue for the tech giant.
Twitter’s price tag is probably what is blocking its acquisition. The company’s current market capitalization is about $13 billion, and any acquisition would likely involve a meaningful premium. According to a report from Fool.com, for a social network that has a stagnating user base, net losses measured in large amounts, and annual revenue of just $2.5 billion, this is a high price to pay.
