Twitter splashes $40 million for TweetDeck

by Steven Mostyn - May 25 2011, 08:49

With twitterers aplenty preferring to utilise the sassy presentation of TweetDeck to display their short-form communications, it’s perhaps no surprise that Twitter has this week coughed up more than $40 million USD to purchase the popular social application.

Although the acquisition has yet to be officially announced and Twitter is remaining oddly quiet on the subject, CNN is citing unnamed insiders who are claiming documentation regarding the big-money deal was signed on Monday.

Talk of the high-profile purchase comes after rumours arose back in February that Twitter app developer UberMedia was sniffing around TweetDeck with a view to tabling a potential offer.

Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Twitter was already immersed in talks with TweetDeck regarding a formal acquisition.

If chatter surrounding Monday’s deal is accurate (and we suspect it is given the following enjoyed by TweetDeck), it wouldn’t be the first time Twitter has snapped up or moved to work alongside third-party applications that enhance or improve the basic user experience.

For example, iPhone application Tweetie has since become part of Twitter’s product portfolio, while the micro-blogging service now also directly supports photo service TwitPic.

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