Google to tap Lazard to review potential bid for Twitter

NEW YORK: Google is working with a financial adviser to consider a potential bid for Twitter, as the social-media company continues to explore a sale, according to a person familiar with the arrangement.

In tapping Lazard, Google hasn’t indicated it will definitely make an offer for Twitter. But the move suggests that Google is evaluating the option, pitting the search giant against other potential bidders including Walt Disney and Salesforce.com.

Gina Scigliano, a Google spokeswoman, declined to comment. A Lazard spokeswoman couldn’t be reached for comment.

Twitter hired Goldman Sachs and Allen & Company to solicit potential buyers after receiving interest from Salesforce, people familiar with the situation have said. The company, which has seen user growth stagnate for more than a year, has been trying to reshape its identify by focusing on video and live events.

Google, the largest subsidiary of Alphabet, has long been viewed as a natural suitor for the struggling social-media firm known for its 140-character Tweets.

The companies have cut deals around advertising and mobile publishing products.

Google’s recent focus, under chief executive Sundar Pichai, has been on artificial intelligence and cloud storage, not social networks.