Twitter's plan to sell itself was left in tatters today as the last major bidder walked away from a deal, causing its share price to fall dramatically.

Last week it emerged Salesforce was the most likely purchaser, after other potential acquirers, including Google and Walt Disney, decided not to pursue a deal.

However, today the firm's chief executive Marc Benioff told the FT a deal was off - and shares slid 6 percent.

Twitter has yet to post a profit even after ramping up advertising efforts. Salesforce chief executive today Marc Benioff told the FT a deal was off as it 'wasn't a right fit'. Last week it emerged Google and Walt Disney had decided not to pursue a deal.

'In this case we've walked away. It wasn't the right fit for us,' he said in an interview with the FT.

According to the paper's sources, Twitter's advisers are still seeking other potential bidders, but a person close to Twitter's senior management said 'the sale process is virtually dead.'

Twitter had told potential acquirers it is seeking to conclude negotiations about selling itself by the time it reports third-quarter earnings on Oct. 27, according to people familiar with the matter.

'It's not the right fit for us for many different reasons,' Mr Benioff said, when asked if price was the deciding factor, adding: 'You're going to look at price, you're going to look at culture, you're going to look at everything.'

TWITTER'S PLUNGING SHARE PRICE Shares of Twitter's stock plunged to their lowest level since August on the news, falling as much as 8 percent and last seen down about 5.5 percent. Salesforce shares were up 5.5 percent. FindTheCompany | Graphiq Twitter has struggled to generate revenue growth and profit, despite having some 313 million average monthly active users and a growing presence as a source of news. The company missed Wall Street's sales expectations in both the first and second quarters of 2016, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine, and has yet to produce a net profit in 11 quarters as a public company. Advertisement

Last week it was thought Google parent Alphabet was a likely contender for the microblogging service but those familiar with the deal told Recode that the company was not moving forward with an effort to buy Twitter at this time.

Disney had also considered making a bid but is not currently planning an offer, according to sources.

Twitter shares plunged on the latest news.

Twitter has struggled to generate revenue growth and profit, despite having some 313 million average monthly active users and a growing presence as a source of news.

The company missed Wall Street's sales expectations in both the first and second quarters of 2016, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine, and has yet to produce a net profit in 11 quarters as a public company.

It has also failed to keep pace with rivals, notably Facebook Inc's Instagram and Snapchat.

Both now boast more users than Twitter by most measures, even though they are much newer, and advertisers have begun to migrate their ad dollars accordingly.

Dorsey, who returned to Twitter as chief executive more than a year ago, has been part of Disney's board since 2013.

Twitter went public in November 2013 at $26 a share.