Vine May Not Be Dead Yet: Twitter Approached by Possible Buyers

Photo: Yui Mok/PA Wire URN:29027580

When it was recently announced that Vine would be closed because it was yet another thing ruined by ham-handed Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, everyone on social media seemed to fall in love with the platform all over. Twitter was flooded with everyone’s favorite Vines, and it was pretty easy to see that there was still a lot of enthusiasm for the 6 second videos.

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Dorsey may be able to do with Vine what couldn’t with Twitter: sell it.

Vine may survive after all. Twitter is currently vetting multiple term sheets from companies offering to buy Vine, and hopes to make a deal soon, multiple sources tell TechCrunch. After announcing its plan to shut down Vine last month, Twitter received a large number of bids, including several from Asia. It’s now working to decide who should run the short-form video app.

While TechCrunch couldn’t confirm the names of any of the companies interested in Vine, a rumored bidder was Japanese messaging and gaming company LINE. [Update: We’ve learned that Twitter has narrowed the pool from more than 10 bidders to around 5.]

Even if he sells it at a loss, this could be the last “victory” for Dorsey before he either runs Twitter into the ground or is forced out. Even though he is one of the company’s founders, he really doesn’t seem to get Twitter now, and seemingly every move he makes is reviled by those of us who use Twitter every day.

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Vine was fun because, like Twitter, it required people to express themselves very quickly. It was amazing at first to see what people could do with 6 seconds and looping. If you haven’t watched many (any) before, here is a place to enjoy the quirky fun that was, and maybe will still be, Vine.

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