The High Price of IPO Talk: Twitter Takes On the Bubble
Some rumors and reports that surfaced lately suggest Twitter is heading for a public offering in the near future, but Twitter co-founder Biz Stone told Reuters the company doesn’t plan to go public anytime soon. “We have so many other things before we even think about that,” Biz Stone told Reuters at a business forum in Seoul on Thursday when asked about the prospects of an IPO.”
Speaking at a business forum held in Seoul, Stone continued to say Twitter doesn’t even have plans to raise funds in the next 12 months, and that the micro-blogging network is making enough money from its ever-evolving advertising mechanism. The Financial Times reported on Sunday that a JPMorgan technology fund was interested in 10 percent of Twitter, and that it would buy the stock directly from Twitter or indirectly from shareholders. Stone dismissed this report as “made up”, though the New York also reported a similar story, saying JPMorgan already acquired a 9% stake indirectly.
In addition to the now dismissed rumors of a Twitter IPO, we’ve also seen other updates from the micro-blogging network today. Setting aside Charlie Sheen’s new Twitter account and followers, Business Insider reports the company has released a major update for its iOS app. The new app streamlines the process of following trends and other users with some new features including a new tweet writing box which includes “@” mention, hashtag and location buttons; a link shortener; a trends-supporting feed and more:
“Find your friends. The app will search your iPhone’s contacts for friends that are already on Twitter.
Auto complete. The app will auto complete the names of your Twitter friends when you mention them in a tweet.
New direct messages. The DM list has been updated and it’s easier to use.”
Twitter was among the handful of social sites and companies to receive a ridiculously high valuation this year, adding to the inevitability of Bubble Talk. Zynga also won a place in this bubbling list, with a valuation at around $7-10 billion. Facebook hasn’t been the only talk of the town. A few others heading towards an IPO include Demand Media’s public offering. Local.com is also prepping for its IPO, including 4,000,000 shares at $4.25 per share.
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