Twitter May Sell Vine Instead of Shutting It Down

Twitter last week announced plans to shut down Vine, but it looks like the video sharing service could potentially live on as Twitter is currently entertaining multiple purchase offers.

According to TechCrunch, Twitter is vetting term sheets from several companies who are offering to buy Vine and "hopes to make a deal soon." Its not known which companies have made offers for Vine, but one rumor suggests Japanese company Line is in the running.

One source says that at least some of the offers are for under $10 million, indicating Twitter might not generate significant revenue directly from selling Vine.

However, Vine could still benefit Twitter even if it's owned by someone who would help it thrive and retain the strong integration between the two apps. Vine content plays instantly in the Twitter stream, bolstering its current parent company's quest to serve more video that could attract user engagement.

First introduced in 2013, Vine lets users capture six-second-long looping video clips that can be shared on social networks like Twitter and Facebook. Vine has had some stiff competition in recent years from companies like Snapchat and Instagram, leading to Twitter's decision to shut it down.

Should Vine not be sold, Twitter plans to shut it down "in the coming months." The Vine website will remain intact so Vines will continue to be available to watch and download, though no new content will be able to be created.

Vine's demise comes in the midst of significant layoffs at Twitter. In October, Twitter let go of nine percent of its staff, or 350 people, in an effort to cut costs and restructure its priorities.