Several major tech corporations -- Google and Salesforce among them -- have allegedly expressed in buying Twitter, as much for the data the social network generates as its actual media revenue.
The company could receive a formal bid in the near future, sources told CNBC on Friday. One person claimed that the pace of talks is picking up, and a deal could be announced by the end of 2016.
The sources added that Twitter's board of directors are largely in favor of an acquisition. Despite the service's continued popularity, it has struggled with how to grow, and seen a number of high-level staff leave.
Earlier today Salesforce's "chief digital evangelist," Vala Afshar, took the unusual step of praising Twitter online after CNBC's news. That might suggest strong interest in a takeover, even though Salesforce is a largely enterprise-focused company.
Why @twitter?
-- Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) September 23, 2016
1 personal learning network
2 the best realtime, context rich news
3 democratize intelligence
4 great place to promote others
It's unknown if Apple is among Twitter's interested parties. It failed to gain any traction with its past social media efforts, namely Ping and the Connect tab in Apple Music. In fact the recent refresh of Apple Music de-emphasizes Connect, hinting that Apple may be going in the opposite direction.