News Corp denies rumours of Twitter bid

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp said rumours about the company's interest in buying micro-blogging site Twitter Inc. or building a stake in it were untrue. Twitter's shares, which rose as much as 14% on Wednesday, pared some gains and closed up 4.1% at $17.38.

The stock rose from a record low after unconfirmed chatter about News Corp's interest in Twitter circulated on Wednesday. The rumours intensified after a CNBC segment, tech website Re/code said. The social media site was evaluated as a takeover target because of the company's shrinking stock price, Re/code said.

In the few months since co-founder Jack Dorsey returned as the chief executive, Twitter has been trying to make the site more engaging. The company said in December it was testing a feature to show ads to people who read tweets without logging in as it tries to monetize nonactive users.

"Twitter inside a larger organization definitely makes theoretical sense, whether its another internet company or a media company," Monness, Crespi, Hardt, and Co. Inc. analyst James Cakmak said.

A News Corp spokesman said there was no truth to the rumours. Twitter already has several high-profile investors. Former Microsoft Corp CEO Steve Ballmer reported a 4% stake in October, making him the third-biggest shareholder after Twitter co-founder Evan Williams and Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.

Twitter has been the subject of takeover rumours in the past, including a fake report attributed to Bloomberg that claimed the company had received an offer to be acquired for $31 billion. Twitter had received bids from Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Facebook Inc., according to reports.