Disney confirms that it looked at buying Twitter last year but went with BAMTech instead

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Disney confirms that it looked at buying Twitter last year but went with BAMTech instead

Jack Dorsey and Bob Iger

Getty Images/Michael Kovac

Disney CEO Bob Iger (left) and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey (right).

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Disney looked at acquiring Twitter last year but decided to buy video streaming firm BAMTech instead, CEO Bob Iger said onstage at Vanity Fair's New Establishment conference on Tuesday.

"We thought Twitter had global reach," Iger said, adding that Disney's interest wasn't "about social media" but rather "distribution" for Disney content.

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Reports from last year said that Disney decided to back down because of rampant bullying and so-called troll activity on Twitter's platform, and Tuesday's comment from Iger marked Disney's first public confirmation that it looked at an acquisition.

It's been well known that Twitter held acquisition talks with multiple would-be suitors, including Salesforce and Disney, last October, all of which ended up losing interest in a deal.

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Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey recently hinted that the company turned down an acquisition offer one year ago, but didn't specify who the offer was from.

Twitter failed to add any new users last quarter, and its stock is down roughly 25% from one year ago.