Twitter seeks pre-IPO credit line Twitter is in discussions with banks about a new credit facility that could run into hundreds of millions of dollars, giving the internet company extra flexibility ahead of its initial public offering. Details of the loan are still being finalised but the deal would see Twitter follow the example of Facebook and Zynga by taking advantage of favourable lending conditions ahead of its IPO, which is expected this year. Sources familiar with the discussions say that Twitter is in talks about a revolving credit facility with a group of banks including JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley, who had been seen as candidates for lead underwriter for the IPO but lost out to Goldman Sachs. One source said that the loan could exceed $500m and might even approach $1bn, although another source said that no decision had yet been made on how much Twitter would raise. Spokespeople for Twitter and each of the investment banks declined to comment. The funds would give Twitter extra working capital to expand and make bolt-on acquisitions in the coming months. Recent acquisitions include MoPub, a mobile advertising network, and Trendrr, a tool for marketers that tracks online chatter during television shows, as Twitter bolsters its advertising tools. Companies often take the opportunity to obtain new credit facilities in the run-up to going public. They have more leverage to request a credit line than they would have when staying private, because banks are eager to win a position in the IPO. Companies also want to have the facilities in place so they have increased flexibility to make deals or finance international expansion in the months immediately after an IPO, without having to return to the capital markets for more equity funding. In March 2012, two months before it went public, Facebook received a financing package worth $8bn, in the form of a revolving credit facility and a bridge loan. Zynga also raised about $1bn in August 2011, which reports at the time said had been earmarked for the acquisition of PopCap, a mobile games developer that was instead sold to Electronic Arts. Twitter said this month it had confidentially filed its S-1 documents for an IPO with financial regulators, without specifying a timeframe for its listing. Sources have suggested that Twitter is planning to make its public debut before the end of the year, perhaps as soon as the end of November, with the publication of its full financial details coming as early as next month. The New York Post was first to report details of Twitter's credit facility.