Salesforce Won't Pursue Bid for Twitter

Salesforce.com Inc. said it won't pursue a bid for Twitter Inc., ending weeks of speculation and sending shares of the social-media company down 6.4%.

Salesforce Chief Executive Marc Benioff in recent weeks had signaled his interest in Twitter to investors. At a company conference last week, he called Twitter an " unpolished jewel."

But Salesforce investors reacted negatively to the idea, sending Salesforce shares down almost 6% on Oct. 5.

The stock move, and other feedback from investors, seemed to trigger second thoughts at Salesforce about the wisdom of a bid.

The Financial Times reported earlier Friday that Salesforce was no longer interested in Twitter. "It wasn't the right fit for us," the paper quoted Mr. Benioff as saying.

A Salesforce spokeswoman confirmed that the company wouldn't make a bid for Twitter. Salesforce shares rose 6.2% following the news.

A Twitter spokeswoman declined to comment.

Salesforce.com maintains a long-term list of potential acquisition targets that it evaluates regularly, said Keith Block, vice chairman, president and chief operating officer in an Oct. 3 interview with The Wall Street Journal. Occasionally, though, the company finds a unique opportunity where Salesforce will see a fit but others may not, he said.

"Marc has a track record of pretty good success and he has a vision that sometimes other people don't see," he said.

Write to Rachael King at rachael.king@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 14, 2016 15:05 ET (19:05 GMT)

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