Twitter might be acquired within the next year, says one top analyst, but it must turn its product around first.
“This is about a better product that advertisers feel more comfortable buying, with more brand-safe video inventory, that Matt Derella and team are selling,” Rich Greenfield, analyst and managing editor at BTIG, told Cheddar, referring to the company’s VP of revenue. “This is set up to work very well in 2018.”
Twitter’s stock has risen about 37 percent in the last year, but news that COO Anthony Noto resigned his post sent shares down more than two percent on Tuesday.
Still Greenfield says that CEO Jack Dorsey will be able to propel growth at the company. He dismissed concerns that Dorsey, also CEO of Square, may be distracted by his other obligations.
“Jack is still very much invested, and very much a believer,” he said. “I think he has benefited from Noto’s ability to help focus the company on the core Twitter product and get rid of some of the distractions that were problematic for the company 18 months ago, two years ago.”
Noto, a former Goldman Sachs investment banker who joined Twitter as its financial chief in 2014, took over the COO role in November 2016. He will take over as CEO at digital lender SoFi in March.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/what-anthony-noto-out-at-twitter-means-for-company).
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Spain's government has fined Airbnb 64 million euros or $75 million for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals. The consumer rights ministry announced the fine on Monday. The ministry stated that many listings lacked proper license numbers or included incorrect information. The move is part of Spain's ongoing efforts to regulate short-term rental companies amid a housing affordability crisis especially in popular urban areas. The ministry ordered Airbnb in May to remove around 65,000 listings for similar violations. The government's consumer rights minister emphasized the impact on families struggling with housing. Airbnb said it plans to challenge the fine in court.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
