Twitter is in talks with several tech companies about a potential sale, including Google and Salesforce, which may soon submit a formal bid for the troubled social networking firm, reports say.

CNBC named Google as a possible buyer while Reuters was told by sources that Salesforce is interested in the company, which has an estimated market value of $16 billion. None of the parties have commented on the matter, though.

Verizon squashed rumours of it being on the list of suitors when it said it had not submitted a bid.

Twitter is struggling to grow its user base and remains loss making. It has been looking at ways to improve its performance, as well as cut costs.

It announced an 8 per cent staff reduction last October, and could apparently make another set of layoffs, a move which could make the company more appealing to a potential buyer. It had 3,860 staff as of 30 June.

Reuters described Salesforce’s pursuit of Twitter as “unexpected” because it has “virtually no presence in the consumer media,” but added that a recent presentation on its artificial intelligence platform, which uses tweets to show how brands are perceived, may explain the interest.

The report also quoted Morningstar analyst Ali Mogharabi as saying that Twitter may be better suited to Google parent Alphabet, as the search giant has been unable to make headway in social media.

Twitter is believed to be working with Goldman Sachs and Allen & Co on the deal.

Earlier in the month Twitter’s board was reported to have held a meeting in San Francisco to discuss a number of issues, including a potential sale.