Twitter moving closer to sale, Google and Salesforce possible suitors

What you need to know:

Twitter has been a near-constant focus of takeover speculation amid persistently disappointing sales and user engagement.
In its most recent quarterly report, it posted its slowest revenue growth since going public in 2013 and issued a lacklustre outlook.

Twitter Inc is moving closer to a sale and has received expressions of interest, CNBC reported on Friday, sending the microblogger's shares up more than 19 per cent in their biggest gain in over two years.

CNBC, citing unnamed sources, said possible suitors include Alphabet's Google and Salesforce.com. No sale is imminent.

Twitter, Salesforce and Alphabet could not be reached immediately for comment. Salesforce shares fell more than 3 per cent, while Alphabet dipped around 0.25 per cent.

Twitter has been a near-constant focus of takeover speculation amid persistently disappointing sales and user engagement. In its most recent quarterly report, it posted its slowest revenue growth since going public in 2013 and issued a lacklustre outlook.

As rivals such as Facebook's Instagram and privately held Snapchat gain traction with advertisers and social media users, investors have questioned how long Twitter could persist as a stand-alone company.

Co-founder Jack Dorsey returned to the company as chief executive in 2015, but his plan for reviving Twitter is at best seen as unfinished.

The CNBC report sent Twitter shares to their highest since early January. It last traded around $22.30 a share.

Twitter's stock regularly jumps on rumours that a bid is afoot, none of which have so far developed into a deal.