Twitter valued at $8 bn in new deal

MUMBAI: Twitter has raised fresh capital of $800 million in a deal that values the micro-blogging site at $8 billion.

Twitter said it has received a “significant” round of funding from current investors and new investor Digital Sky Technologies, the investment engine run by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner who also has stakes in Facebook. It did not, however, disclose the financial details.

The latest round of funding has bloated the value of Twitter. In December, it had raised $200 million from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and other firms in a deal that valued the company at $3.7 billion.
 
In a blog post, Twitter said: “We will use these resources to aggressively innovate, hire more great people and invest in international expansion.”

In a statement released by Twitter, Milner said: “Twitter‘s astonishing growth is a testament to how important it is becoming to more people every day, and why we couldn‘t pass up the chance to be a bigger part of its future.”

The fund-raising goes on to show the growing importance of social networking companies and their relevance in the marketplace. Currently, Twitter is on track to generate $150 million in advertising revenue this year, according to research firm eMarketer