Twitter considered $4 billion acquisition of Clubhouse

Twitter Inc. briefly mulled a $4 billion acquisition of Clubhouse before talks broke off, according to a new report.

A Bloomberg News report, citing unnamed sources, said the microblogging service in recent months considered a takeover. But after discussions ceased, Clubhouse began to explore ways to raise funding from investors in a round valuing the business at about $4 billion, according to another Bloomberg report.

A Twitter TWTR, -0.04% spokesman said the company does not comment on rumors or speculation. Clubhouse was not immediately available for comment.

Twitter shares, which rose 3% during the regular trading session, were flat in extended trading Wednesday.

The invitation-only audio chat app, launched less than a year ago, has caught the attention of Facebook Inc. FB, -0.18% Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla Inc. TSLA, -0.99% CEO Elon Musk, as well as the Chinese government, which has blocked the app in that country.

Facebook, Microsoft Corp.’s MSFT, +1.03% LinkedIn and Salesforce.com Inc.’s CRM, +3.04% Slack Technologies Inc. are among the companies said to be developing features similar to Clubhouse for their networks. Read more