Verizon almost got a new - and unexpected - rival in its bid for Yahoo: Twitter.
Executives from the social media network met with Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and her team several weeks ago to discuss merger possibilities.
The two teams discussed the financial state of Yahoo and whether a merger would made strategic sense for the two firms.
It’s not clear whether the conversations were serious, though, as Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey did not even attend the meeting.
Twitter dropped out of the Yahoo auction soon after the meeting.
Second round bids are due next week.