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JPMorgan is said to be negotiating for a stake in Twitter

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JPMorgan Chase & Co. is reportedly in talks to buy a stake in Twitter.

The investment could be made using money from a $1.2-billion “digital growth fund” that JPMorgan recently disclosed in a regulatory filing, according to multiple news reports — all citing unnamed sources.

A Twitter spokeswoman declined to comment on the reports. Officials at JPMorgan Chase were not available for comment.

None of the rumors about the potential deal say whether JPMorgan would invest in Twitter directly or buy shares from current investors. Twitter is a social networking site that allows users to send 140-character text messages to followers.

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Just weeks ago, there was speculation that Google and Facebook were interested in buying Twitter for about $10 billion — rumors that Twitter founder Biz Stone and Chief Executive Dick Costolo both have denied.

Menlo Park, Calif., venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz invested $80 million in Twitter this month by buying stock on secondary markets from investors.

In December, Twitter raised $200 million in a round of funding led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, which valued the company at $3.7 billion.

In January, research group eMarketer projected that Twitter could triple its advertising revenue to $150 million in 2011 and $250 million in 2012.

JPMorgan reported last month that its profit rose 48% to $17.4 billion in 2010.

nathan.olivarezgiles@latimes.com

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