Twitter to acquire talent business Niche for $30m

Social networking giant Twitter is set to acquire social media talent agency Niche for $30 million.

Twitter has expanded its media ecosystem with the acquisition of the social media talent agency Niche in a deal that is expected to be worth at least $30 million in cash and shares. The value of the deal could possibly even go as high as $60 million if including employee-retention incentives, according to several media agencies familiar with the situation.

Niche previously raised $4m from investors including Lerer Ventures, SV Angel, Advancit Capital and William Morris Endeavor.

It’s a move that’s designed to give Twitter access to a previously untapped revenue stream, as it will be able to further monetise the small startup’s ability to connect advertisers with social media stars on its own property and also on other services like YouTube and Facebook.

“As more users and creators use different products as a way to share what’s happening in their world, brands are also looking to partner with those individuals in hopes of generating moments that resonate with the people they are trying to reach,” Baljeet Singh, Twitter’s director of product management wrote in a blog post.

“The talent and creativity across the entire media landscape is incredible, and we hope this acquisition continues to inspire people to create great content,” he added.

Recently, Twitter has been attempting to tap other revenue opportunities that go beyond promoting tweets or selling data. It’s a strategy that appears to be working, as only a week ago the company released earnings figures that beat expectations.

The company saw revenue grow by 95 per cent in the October to December period, rising to $479 million. This was driven by a 97 per cent rise in advertising revenue in the fourth quarter of 2014, which grew to $432 million.

Twitter’s acquisition of Niche will hopefully lift these figures even higher and cement the company’s place as one of the top social media success stories, placing it alongside the likes of Facebook and YouTube.