Apple considering 'strategic investment' in Twitter

The New York Times is reporting that Apple may be ready to invest "hundreds of millions of dollars" in a stake in Twitter.

According to "people briefed on the matter," the NYT reckons Apple wants to take part-ownership of the micro-blogging phenomenon to "boost its traction" in the all-important social networking arena.

The report says any investment from Apple cold value the company at $10 billion dollars (£6 billion), compared to Facebook's post-IPO high of $104 billion (£61 billion).

The NYT writes: "Apple has considered an investment in the hundreds of millions of dollars, one that could value Twitter at more than $10 billion, up from an $8.4 billion valuation last year.

"They (the sources) declined to be named because the discussions were private."

No guarantees

The report adds that the two companies are currently in discussions, but "there are no guarantees" that an agreement will be reached.

Apple currently has a gigantic stockpile of cash, so even an investment on the scale mentioned by the NYT wouldn't represent that much of a risk for the money men in Cupertino.

The links between Apple and Twitter are deeper than ever with the social network now baked into the latest versions of Apple's computer and mobile operating systems.

This is definitely one we'll be keeping an eye on.