Twitter could rescue Vine through a sale
When Twitter decided to kill Vine, there was a common reaction: why didn’t the company just sell its looping video service instead of reducing it to a memorial? Well, cooler heads might prevail after all. Sources speaking to our TechCrunch colleagues claim that Twitter is looking at “multiple” bids for Vine that flooded in the moment it put the service on the chopping block. There are no definite suitors, but messaging giant Line is rumored to be in the running.
Twitter won’t erase its financial concerns if there is a sale, though. Reportedly, some of the offers were modest — we’re talking under $10 million. Given that Twitter is believed to have bought Vine for $30 million, it’d still be taking a loss on its investment in the short term. It beats not selling at all, however, and the company might be entirely happy if there’s a Vine revival that preserves Twitter integration. After all, that would mean more users and ad revenue.
To no one’s surprise, Twitter isn’t commenting. And it’s important to remember that there’s no guarantee any sale will happen, assuming the leak is accurate. Twitter might not get the terms it wants for a deal, or a would-be buyer might develop cold feet. Still, this gives hope to fans who invested significant chunks of their life (6 seconds at a time) into Vine and want to see it healthy again.
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