Salesforce (CRM) CEO Marc Benioff is still reeling from losing out on the LinkedIn (LNKD) acquisition to Microsoft (MSFT); going so far as to supposedly petition EU regulators to make MSFT share the primary asset it acquired from LNKD (professional database)
The brash billionaire is allegedly enamored with TWTR’s potential, but more importantly has made no attempt to refute his interest despite watching his stock - where his net worth is concentrated - gap down over ~10% since CRM was rumored as an acquirer.
Put another way, he could have stopped the bleeding at any time if he wasn’t really interested. So while we do not believe TWTR has enough potential suitors to actually field a competitive bidding process, it may only need one eccentric billionaire who isn’t scared of his fans (investors) to make this happen.
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Editor’s Note
This is a brief excerpt from an institutional research note. For more access to Twitter or other in-depth research, email mmoran@hedgeye.com.