Bloomberg Battles To Get Hold Of Spoof Domain

Bloomberg is trying to get hold of the domain name which was used to publish a fake news story in its name that saw Twitter (Xetra: A1W6XZ - news) shares spike.

The story purporting to be from the financial news service claimed that the social network had received a $31bn (£19bn) takeover offer.

Bloomberg was quick to point out on its social media channels that the story on the lookalike site was false, but not before Twitter's stock had rapidly increased.

The offending address - www.bloomberg.market - could now be transferred to Bloomberg after the company went to the National Arbitration Forum, which deals with disputed domain names.

The operator of the .market suffix has already taken the site down, but now a panel of independent experts will rule on whether the mystery owners of the domain name must hand it over.

It is the latest in a long line of domain names which Bloomberg has coughed up $1,300 (£840) to take to the arbitration panel to protect its brand.

They include successful claims on bloomberg.red, bloombergcompany-us.com, bloombergss.info, bloombergsa.info, bloombergb.info, bloomberg.info, bloombergdata.net, bloomberg.link, bloomberg.lawyer, bloombergon.com, bloomberg.top, bloombergonline.net, bloombergpodcasts.com and bloombergexperts.net.

Increasing numbers of traders rely on social media to get the edge on market news.

Rumours of a Twitter takeover have been swirling since former chief executive Dick Costolo announced his resignation last month.

Among those who analysts believe could be interested in purchasing Twitter is search giant Google (Xetra: A0B7FY - news) .