Fake story on buyout sends Twitter stock briefly higher

A fake news story goosed Twitter‘s stock, falsely reporting that the company had received a $31 billion takeover bid.

Twitter and Bloomberg have confirmed the story is false.

Following a confirmation from Bloomberg, Twitter shares promptly erased any gains seen following the publication of the fake report.

A representative for the Securities and Exchange Commission declined to comment on whether regulators were looking into the hoax.

The story appeared convincing, with a Bloomberg Business logo, but Bloomberg quickly tweeted that it was fake.

IThis helps highlight the impact that media reports can have on share prices. It would be the agency to investigate the incident.

While a deal is expected to to be reached, bankers may rebuff any suitor or work out an eventual sale, the people said asking not to be named as the information is private. And when a 2002 story about the bankruptcy of a United Airlines parent company resurfaced by mistake in 2008, it made that stock plummet around 76 percent in a few minutes.

There have already been rumors circulating that the company could be bought out.

When the fake story broke, Williams was at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen, Colorado, fielding questions about the makeup of the board. Unlike Facebook, Twitter shares performed well in the months following the IPO, trading above $70 after being first offered at $26 just weeks earlier.

Ty Trippet, a spokesperson for Bloomberg, said the Twitter story published on the Bloomberg.market website was a fraud.

TheFly reported a short while ago Bloomberg has in fact denied the report via a spokesman. The registration was created last Friday.

The fake buyout offers, posted in the market regulator’s Edgar system, where official regulatory filings are stored, caused the stock to jump up by as much as 20 percent in May.