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Apple considered Twitter investment: report

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Apple Inc. has held discussions with Twitter Inc. about investing in the social media site, according to two published reports, which gave varying accounts of the timing of the talks.

Both accounts said no active discussions are under way, and there are no guarantees a deal will be reached. Apple and Twitter did not immediately return requests for comment.

Apple (AAPL) more than a year ago held talks about making a strategic investment in the shorter-messaging service, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing a person familiar with the discussions.

The technology companies have spoken in recent months about Apple making an investment in Twitter in the hundreds of millions of dollars, the New York Times reported Friday, citing unidentified people briefed on the matter.

The investment considered would put Twitter's potential value at more than $10 billion, according to the people cited by the Times.

A recent round of private investment valued Twitter at $8.4 billion, the Journal reported.

Apple has so far not found footing in social networking, an increasingly lucrative draw for advertisers which so far has largely been dominated by Facebook Inc. (FB)

Apple on Friday said it would buy fingerprint-technology company AuthenTec Inc. (AUTH) for about $350 million.

Apple last week reported sales and profit declined in the quarter ending June 30, in a rare miss for the seller of popular iPhones and iPads.