Dive Brief:

• Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff  told the Financial Times Friday that his company would not be moving forward with a potential Twitter bid, according to a report from Business Insider. “In this case we’ve walked away," he told the Times. "It wasn’t the right fit for us.”

• Salesforce stood as the last major known suitor considering an acquisition of the social media platform after Google and Disney dropped out of the race. Last week, Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey set a "hugely ambitious" deadline of Oct. 27 for potential bids, ahead of his site’s Q3 earnings reports.
• Business Insider reports Salesforce shares are up almost 5%, while Twitter is down around 6% as of Friday afternoon.

Dive Insight:

Just a few weeks ago, Disney, Salesforce and especially Google all seemed interested in potentially acquiring Twitter, but as of Friday, all known big potential bidders for the site have dropped out. Jack Dorsey sent a memo to employees last week labeling Twitter as the “people’s news network,” and the site has made myriad efforts to build up its video offerings and transform into a type of live TV platform since he rejoined with the company last year, an effort that is ongoing. 

So far, concentrated pushes toward video have done little to boost Twitter’s slowed user growth and wobbly financial performance throughout 2016, and even some of its biggest deals, like a 10 game video package with the NFL, have been “underwhelming” for some sponsors.

When Dorsey set a deadline of Oct. 27 for bidders, he did so with the intention of clearly communicating Twitter’s financial future, but the move seemed to turn Disney and Google away, with Salesforce joining suit this afternoon. Now, the only option for Twitter appears to be a dark horse buyer or, perhaps more likely, no buyer at all, leaving the former social media star’s standing further damaged.