Disney, not Salesforce, should be the company looking to buy Twitter, says early investor

disney

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Rumors are flying that Twitter is up for sale with a formal bid on the horizon, according to reports from CNBC.

Among the potential suitors are Google and Salesforce — an interesting line-up of companies to early investor and Spark Capital partner Nabeel Hyatt.

Hyatt, who has no inside information about the company, offered up another name that should be in the running if the company was truly up for sale: Disney.

For starters, there's an obvious connection. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is on the board of Disney so there's a friendly relationship there.

But the bigger picture is that Twitter is building a media company, not just another social network and especially not a sales tool, Hyatt argues.

This fall, the company began its push in earnest by live-streaming NFL Thursday night football and releasing a TV apps so people can follow along if they have an Apple TV or Xbox. It will also livestream the presidential debates, starting September 26.

"Twitter is and has always been a media company, and everyone who thought of them as a messenger company got it wrong," Hyatt told Business Insider in an interview. "And if anyone thinks they're a sales tool and should therefore meld in perfectly to Salesforce, I don't think has spent that much time with the core teams of either of those two companies."

Disney isn't just themes park business, but a conglomerate of media entities including ABC and ESPN. If Twitter starts to challenge both those properties earnestly, Disney could potentially scoop it up to help them become interconnected rather than competitors. To be clear, Hyatt has no inside knowledge and there's been no reported interest during this latest round of rumors. But it doesn't mean Disney couldn't be an interested party in Twitter down the line.

"If they're not going to be an independent company, then you have to look at large media companies that are good stewards," Hyatt said. "And I think Disney is the perfect place."

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