Twitter To Raise $100 Million

Twitter将获1亿美元投资

Twitter, the messaging Web site that has become an Internet sensation, is nearing a deal to close as much as $100 million of new funding from as many as seven investors, according to people familiar with the deal.

知情人士透露，在互联网界引起轰动的微型博客网站Twitter目前接近达成一桩交易，将从至多7家投资者手中获得最高可达1亿美元的新投资。

The investor group includes mutual fund giant T. Rowe Price Group (TROW) and private-equity firm Insight Venture Partners, which are new investors to Twitter. The $100 million investment is about twice as much as Twitter was reportedly expected to haul in this latest round of fundraising.

投资团包括共同基金巨头T. Rowe Price Group和私募股权公司Insight Venture Partners。这两家公司都是首次投资Twitter。与据报导Twitter在这轮筹资中预期获得的投资相比，这桩1亿美元的投资高出了约一倍。

Other investors in this round include venture-capital firms Spark Capital and Institutional Venture Partners, which have previously invested in Twitter.

此轮中的其他投资者还包括风险投资公司Spark Capital和Institutional Venture Partners。两家公司此前都在Twitter有投资。

The investors are valuing Twitter, which has yet to generate revenue or finalize its plans for making money, at about $1 billion. A person familiar with the deal said investors are applying a similar value to Twitter as that applied to Facebook, which at one point was valued at $15 billion. By some estimates,

Twitter is expected to have 25 million users by the end of 2009. Facebook has 300 million users.

这些投资者对Twitter的估值为约10亿美元。Twitter尚未实现收入，也还没有确定盈利计划。一位知情人士说，投资者们对Twitter的估值与此前对Facebook的类似。Facebook曾有一度估值达150亿美元。根据一些标准衡量，预计2009年底Twitter用户将达2,500万。 Facebook现有3亿用户。

Twitter could not immediately be reached for comment.

记者暂时无法联系到Twitter相关人士发表置评。

The Twitter valuation is quite a lift from the company's last round of investing earlier this year, in which investors valued the company at around $255 million, according to people familiar with the matter.

知情人士说，目前Twitter的估值较今年早些时候该公司上一轮筹资时有了大幅增长。当时投资者对该公司的估值约为2.55亿美元。

The company still isn't generating any real revenue, though executives say they are discussing various options, including advertising and premium services targeted at businesses.

该公司仍没有产生任何实际收入，不过公司管理人士说他们正在讨论各种选择，包括打广告和提供针对企业的高级服务。

The deal is expected to close Thursday. It is Twitter's third and largest round of fundraising.

预计交易将于下周四完成。这是Twitter第三轮、也是到目前为止该公司规模最大的一次筹资。