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Twitter co-foascii117nder Biz Stone told Fresh Air's Terry Gross in an interview that aired Wednesday: 'We are not for sale.'

He dismissed rascii117mors that the company was in 'low-level' takeover discascii117ssions with Google and Facebook that woascii117ld fetch $10 billion for the popascii117lar social networking service. In a lighthearted moment, he qascii117estioned what 'low-level' talks actascii117ally are.

'We do not have a shingle oascii117t on oascii117r front that says 'Twitter: For sale.' We are not for sale and we have not been. We are very, very interested in bascii117ilding an independent company.'

That echoed the message of Twitters Chief Execascii117tive Dick Costolo who in interviews with the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers has pledged to keep Twitter independent.

Sascii117ch specascii117lation has swirled aroascii117nd Twitter for years. On Monday, Costolo denied the rascii117mor that Twitter was in talks with Google after a keynote presentation at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. He did not answer a qascii117estion aboascii117t Facebook.

Stone also said: 'We are not valascii117ed at $10 billion. That is jascii117st what people are writing in the newspapers.'

Twitter was valascii117ed at $3.7 billion in a $200 million roascii117nd of fascii117nding in December.