Google Inc. and Facebook Inc. have both held low-level talks with Twitter Inc. about purchasing the social networking service, according to a report published on Thursday.
The talks have valued Twitter at $8 billion to $10 billion, according to unnamed sources cited by The Wall Street Journal. The sources said the company had 2010 revenue of $45 million but lost money as it hired and invested in data centers, according to the Journal.
Investors have shown keen interest in social networking services in recent months. Last month, daily coupon website Groupon raised $950 million in financing after reportedly turning down Google's offer to purchase it for $6 billion. Facebook is also said to have received $500 million in new funding last month.
Twitter and Facebook declined to comment. Google did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.