New Delhi: Twitter has acquired the popular third-party Twitter application TweetDeck for $40 million, say reports. The TweetDeck deal will be one of Twitter's largest acquisitions to date.
The deal will give Twitter an application that has won praise among sophisticated users for its slick interface and enhanced capabilities, while closing out a potential threat to Twitter's fast-growing service.
TweetDeck had been in acquisition discussions with UberMedia, a Pasadena Web company founded by entrepreneur Bill Gross, in a deal that was valued at less than what Twitter offered. UberMedia has been amassing a collection of Twitter applications which some commentators have speculated could ultimately be used to create a rival social network to Twitter.
The exclusivity terms of UberMedia's offer for TweetDeck expired in mid-April, allowing TweetDeck to respond to the Twitter offer, according to the source. A Twitter hasn't yet commented on the deal. "For all those who might be curious, we continue to not comment on rumors," @twitterglobalpr, Twitter's PR account, tweeted.
The deal comes a little over a month after Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey returned to the company as executive chairman to oversee product development.
Twitter, which allows people to send 140-character text messages, or Tweets, to groups of so-called followers, is one of the Web's most popular social networking services, along with Facebook and Zynga.
The service has become a popular communications tool for celebrities, politicians and businesses, and has played a role in several geopolitical events, such as recent uprisings in the Middle East.
In December Twitter was valued at $3.7 billion in a $200 million funding round led by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Subsequent auctions of Twitter shares on the secondary markets have suggested investors were valuing the shares at more than $7 billion.
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