Twitter Inc (TWTR) More Interested In Smaller Startups Shows Its Acquisition Pattern

The number of Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR)’s mergers and acquisitions have surged over the last couple of years. Analysts have noted that the micro blogging website has made ten acquisitions in the calendar year 2014 alone with a third of the year still to go. But this number does not mean that Twitter is going about purchasing random companies that catch its eyes. Patterns have been noted in the businesses that the company is more inclined to purchase. In addition to this, their funding status show that the graph is skewed in favor of Series A or angel funded companies.

A look at Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR)’s list of acquisitions between the years 2008 and 2014 indicate that the company’s focus has been clearly shifting from social and technology based companies in the earlier years to business intelligence and performance management companies currently. SecondSync, the television based tweets analyzer and Gnip, the social data provider, stand testimony to this fact. Prior to that, Twitter had concentrated more on companies excelling in search, media and other social content. Mobile advertising is another area where Twitter’s most recent purchases seem to be concentrated. In this segment, the company acquired Namo Media, the unobtrusive advertisement integrator and TapCommerce, the mobile retargeting company earlier this year.

Also, most of Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR)’s conquests are startups, with around 36% of them having no prior funding. 14 of its acquisitions to date have been seed or angel companies. It still remains to be seen if Twitter’s $1.3 billion debt offering for future acquisitions, which was announced after Anthony Noto took over as the company’s Chief Financial Officer, might change this trend. First Round Capital, Harrison Metal and SV Angel top the list of investors who held major stakes in Twitter acquisitions. Each of them held portfolios in four companies that were later acquired by Twitter.

Add this code at the bottom of your articles:
Free Report: Warren Buffett and 12 Billionaires Are Crazy About These 7 Stocks

Let Warren Buffett, David Einhorn, George Soros, and David Tepper WORK FOR YOU. If you want to beat the low cost index funds by an average of 6 percentage points per year look no further than Warren Buffett’s stock picks. That’s the margin Buffett’s stock picks outperformed the market since 2008. In this free report, Insider Monkey’s market beating research team identified 7 stocks Warren Buffett and 12 other billionaires are crazy about. CLICK HERE NOW for all the details.