Call it tweet consolation!
JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley have nabbed lead roles on a planned revolving line of credit for Twitter ahead of the red-hot tech company’s much anticipated stock debut.
For the banking duo, landing the lead on Twitter’s credit line is a sort of consolation prize after losing out on the more lucrative lead role in the microblogging site’s IPO.
Goldman Sachs is believed to have nabbed the chief role in Twitter’s offering, which is expected to be launched sometime around Thanksgiving, sources tell The Post.
Twitter is seeking a credit line — for working capital purposes — of $500 million to as much as $1 billion ahead of its IPO, sources familiar with the situation said.
It’s unclear how large the line of credit will be — but if Twitter follows Zynga’s lead, it would go to the upper range of $1 billion.
JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley also have roles in the upcoming IPO, the most anticipated since Facebook’s debut in May 2012.
Spokespersons for the banks declined to comment and a Twitter spokesman did not return a call seeking comment.
A line of credit for a company about to go public is not unusual or a sign of financial trouble.
Bankers sometimes advise companies to secure as much rainy-day cash as they possibly can ahead of a listing, in case market turbulence or other factors delay the IPO.
Twitter, which elected to submit a confidential IPO filing with regulators, does not have to make its financial information public until 21 days before it intends to market the deal to prospective investors.
The confidential IPO process is part of the JOBS, or Jumpstart Our Business Startups, Act signed into law by President Obama 17 months ago.
The law is aimed at making the route to going public less expensive and shorter.
It is reserved for companies with revenues under $1 billion.
The seven-year-old San Francisco-based tech firm is expected to have nearly a dozen banks participating in varying roles in its upcoming offer.
It has not yet decided whether to list on the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq.
Meanwhile, Twitter, in accordance with its goal of avoiding a repeat of Facebook’s überhyped — and ultimately botched — IPO, has told bankers working on the deal to keep their lips sealed.
The company wants to avoid a repeat of Facebook’s over-hyped market debut, which disappointed investors when the shares traded below the IPO price for nearly a year.
Facebook, critics said, was priced too high at its debut, at $38, and it stumbled badly — spending its first 14 months under the IPO price.
Twitter may be willing to leave some money on the table in pricing its stock offering to get that first-day pop, sources said.