Giant Social Media Brands May Bid For Twitter

Twitter shares surged Friday after sources said the ailing social media company moved closer to being sold.
The sources said the company has received expressions of interest from several technology or media companies and may receive a formal bid shortly.

The potential suitors include Google and Salesforce.com, among other technology companies, sources said.
Twitter's board of directors is said to be largely desirous of a deal, according to people close to the situation, but no sale is imminent.

There's no assurance a deal will materialize, but one source close to the conversations said that they are picking up momentum and could result in a deal before year-end.

Suitors are said to be interested as much in the data that Twitter generates as its place as a media company. Salesforce declined to comment and other companies did not immediately provide a comment.