Tech

Disney isn’t going to bid for Twitter, either

Peter Kafka
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The Walt Disney Company Chairman and CEO Bob Iger and Twitter Co-Founder and Chairman and Square CEO Jack Dorsey speak onstage.
Michael Kovac | Vanity Fair | Getty Images

Cross another potential Twitter buyer off the list: Disney isn't pursuing a bid for the social platform, either.

Sources familiar with Disney, which was mulling a possible Twitter purchase last week, say the media giant has decided not to move forward.

Earlier today Recode reported that Google, a logical buyer for Twitter who had also was hired a banker to kick the company's tires, was not going to bid; Apple is also unlikely. Twitter shares dropped 9 percent in after-hours trading.

For now, that leaves Salesforce as the only potential buyer for Twitter, though the company has never confirmed publicly that it wants to make a deal. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff appeared on CNBC today and refused to comment directly on any interest in Twitter.

Benioff on deals: Our decisions have been good for our company
VIDEO4:3704:37
Benioff on deals: Our decisions have been good for our company

Industry observers have thought that Disney and Twitter might make sense as a pairing. One reason is because Disney CEO Bob Iger is friendly with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who sits on Disney's board. Another is that Disney is interested in finding new digital distribution outlets for its content, as its strength in TV begins to waver.

By Peter Kafka, Re/code.net.

CNBC's parent NBCUniversal is an investor in Recode's parent Vox, and the companies have a content-sharing arrangement.