By Marcus Leach
Twitter has announced the acquisition of third-party tweeting app Tweetdeck.
First developed in London in 2008 by Iain Dodsworth the software enables users to manage multiple accounts on both Twitter and other networks.
Mr Dodsworth said he was extremely happy with the deal, and according to research group Sysomos 5.5% of all tweets are sent from Tweetdeck.
The actual cost of the deal was not announced, however early reports suggest it was in the region of $40 million (£25 million), comprising of both cash and shares in Twitter.
Tweetdeck allows users to post simultaneously on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Buzz, Foursquare and MySpace.
"Change may well be inevitable, but we remain the same team, staying in London, with the same focus and products, and now with the support and resources to allow us to grow and take on even bigger challenges," Mr Dodsworth said writing on the Tweetdeck blog.
"This acquisition is an important step forward for us," chief executive Dick Costolo said.
"Tweetdeck provides brands, publishers, marketers and others with a powerful platform to track all the real-time conversations they care about."
