Twitch – the service described as the world's leading video streaming platform for gamers – could be about to secure new owners in the form of Google-owned YouTube.
According to Variety, the tech giant's all-cash bid worth in excess of $1bn has been accepted by San Francisco-based Twitch and it's suggested the deal could be announced officially soon.
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Twitch is a service that lets gamers upload and watch free in-game videos streamed from both Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One, while also offering paid-for subscription models.
It's thought that Twitch has more than 45 million monthly users on its books, with more than one million people who upload videos each month. It also holds a handful of content distribution partnerships.
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The Verge has reported that Twitch has rebuffed other takeover offers, going with Google ahead of a number of other companies to have made offers, that are thought to have included Microsoft.
In contrast to the Variety report, however, the Wall Street Journal has claimed that discussions between Twitch and Google are still at an early stage – indicating that completion of any takeover isn't likely to be imminent.
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by Pete Hayman