Twitter’s longtime supporter and major investor Chris Sacca recently said in an interview that he has been selling some of his shares in the micro-blogging giant. Sacca, who has been a staunch supporter and longtime investor in Twitter, believes some “fresh blood” will help the social media platform and wants it to be acquired.
Not much changing under Dorsey
On Tuesday, Sacca said that despite constant tweaks to make the platform easier to use, it has fallen short of its potential by failing to underline its most interesting content.
Sacca told Bloomberg TV, “I’ve definitely sold some Twitter shares… I don’t own as many as I used to because I’m not an idiot, but I own more than I should because I’m an idiot.”
Sacca’s comments come a year after he tweeted that the micro-blogging should make co-founder Jack Dorsey its chief executive officer. The tech investor even wrote an 8,500-word open letter to the company. Last year, Dorsey retook the reins of the company. However, Sacca noted that there have not been sufficient changes under his leadership, suggesting that co-founder Evan Williams would have more influence over product direction.
Twitter to receive bids this week
Citing people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reports that Twitter will be receiving acquisition bids this week. Salesforce.com is among the likely bidders. Disney and Alphabet’s Google may bid as well. The micro-blogging giant’s user growth and revenue growth have flattened, prompting it to engage in talks with potential buyers.
Sources told the WSJ that Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff considers the social network an “unpolished jewel.” The company could benefit from Twitter’s massive amounts of data, which could help it improve its software that businesses use to handle customer relationships.
Twitter’s $20 billion (or more) price tag could make a deal less likely. According to Sacca, buyers won’t pay more than Twitter’s current stock price.
“I don’t see how it gets materially better over the next two years without fresh blood,” he said. “I literally should go to a Twitter therapist, just the 10 years of stress and trauma with this company.”
On Tuesday, Twitter shares closed down 2% at $23.52. Year to date, the stock is up almost 6%, while in the last year, it is down almost 11%. Twitter’s current market cap is at $17.33 billion, while it was worth around $20 billion on September 23 when rumors about its acquisition by Google and Salesforce.com first surfaced.
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