Twitter Inc. was dealt another blow just before the weekend when the last of its potential suitors, Salesforce.com Inc., distanced itself from an acquisition in the near term.

The news follows reports last month that Twitter had been approached by a number of high profile tech companies to discuss a possible buyout. News of Salesforce’s rejection came straight from the horse’s mouth, with company Chief Executive Mark Benioff telling the New York Times in no uncertain terms that “… we’ve walked away. It wasn’t the right fit for us.”

Benioff’s comments come after a string of other potential suitors all publicly rejected buying Twitter. Microsoft, not really considered to be a strong contender anyhow, was the first to announce it had no interest in buying the company. That rejection was quickly mirrored by Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc., and also one of the more curious potential buyers, Walt Disney Co., both of which said they weren’t interested.

But Benioff’s statement is more telling, because it suggests that Salesforce was at the very least talking to Twitter about some kind of deal. Indeed, Benioff had previously hinted at a possible interest in the struggling social media firm, calling it an “unpolished jewel,” and the statement that he “walked away” appears to confirm that interest.

The departure of Twitter’s potential suitors sent the company’s shares, which had already taken a battering in recent weeks, tumbling on Friday, down by 5 percent to $16.88.

Delaying tactics?

Then again, it could just be that Twitter’s suitors are angling for a better price, said one analyst. Holger Mueller, principal analyst and vice president of Constellation Research, Inc., said there’s a simple explanation why everyone is turning their backs on Twitter – the company is priced too highly right now, and will likely be forced to reduce its asking price if no one bites.

“The reason no one is buying it is, Twitter will get cheaper the longer they wait,” Mueller said.

One reason Mueller thinks Twitter will get cheaper is its steadily declining user base, which was admitted for the first time by CEO Jack Dorsey back in February. According to Mueller, the longer Twitter’s potential suitors wait, the better idea they will have of what they’re really getting for their money. While its user numbers are falling, “the active users are staying so you will get less but more valuable users, so it makes sense to wait,” Mueller said.

But anyone playing the waiting game could also be taking a risk, for Fortune suggests that private equity funds could well be lurking in the background, waiting to pounce – though any deal in that direction would likely lead to significant layoffs.

Perhaps the situation will become clearer on Oct. 27 when Twitter announces its third-quarter earnings. The company has been a bit of a damp squib on the financial markets since going public back in 2013, failing to offer much evidence that it can sustain growth or attract new users. Twitter reported its slowest growth yet in the second quarter as sales rose 20 percent to $602 million but fell short of analysts’ projected $606.8 million sales.

Photo Credit: west.m Flickr via Compfight cc