On Tuesday, Recode, citing people familiar with the situation, reported that micro blogging site Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) has invested in SoundCloud. The report was confirmed by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
Twitter has invested $70 million U.S. in SoundCloud. Interestingly, two years ago, TWTR had considered acquiring SoundCloud but then backed out of a deal. This time, TWTR has invested in Series E fund raising round of SoundCloud. On completion of the latest funding round, SoundCloud will have a value of $700 million U.S.. This is same as the music streaming company’s valuation at the end of Series D round of funding.
Jack Dorsey said that the investment in SoundCloud was made earlier in the year through Twitter ventures. Dorsey noted that SoundCloud has been great partners of the company and their community-supported approach is similar to TWTR’s. The investment was also confirmed by a spokesperson from SoundCloud.
Twitter itself is now being seen as a takeover target. The takeover rumors have been fueled after Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) announced the acquisition of professional networking site LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD). The rumors have boosted TWTR shares in the last three trading sessions. The stock is up more than 13% since Monday.
Twitter shares closed Wednesday trading at $15.96 U.S., up 60 cents, or 3.9%, from Tuesday's close, witnin a 52-week trading range of $13.73 to $38.82 U.S.
