A rumored Twitter sale of Vine could save the six-second video sharing service from the social media trash bin.
Tech Crunch reported multiple sources said Twitter received a "large number of bids" for Vine after announcing plans to shut down the service in October. The tech website said Twitter hoped to make a deal soon.
"While TechCrunch couldn't confirm the names of any of the companies interested in Vine, a rumored bidder was Japanese messaging and gaming company LINE," said Tech Crunch writer Josh Constine, noting in an update that Twitter had reportedly narrowed its bidders down to five.
"… One source says that at least some of the offers are for less than $10 million, indicating Twitter might not generate significant revenue directly from selling Vine."
Vine was created in mid-2012, and Twitter purchased the company in October 2012 for a reported $30 million, according to Variety. The micro-blogging site announced Oct. 27 that it was shutting down Vine as part of an overall cost cutting effort that included laying off 350 employees, roughly nine percent of its workforce.
Jared Augustine, chief executive of Thuzio, a data and social media management company, told Variety that Vine failed to successfully compete with rivals Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, and Snapchat.
"Snapchat is a superior video product and is constantly improving," said Augustine. "Instagram simply lives in a much larger ecosystem via Facebook. For these reasons, Vine's top influencers have been leaving the platform for greener pastures."
Engadget writer Jon Fingas said that while Twitter would likely lose financially on its investment in Vine, it could still benefit from the sale.
"Twitter won't erase its financial concerns if there is a sale, though," said Fingas. "… It beats not selling at all, however, and the company might be entirely happy if there's a Vine revival that preserves Twitter integration. After all, that would mean more users and ad revenue."
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