Facebook, the world's leading social-networking site, on Wednesday confirmed that it had acquired a San Francisco-based start-up called SportStream that enables users to analyze data related to social media mentions of sports.

Founded nearly 18 months ago and owned by entrepreneur Paul Allen, SportStream allows broadcasters and content editors to collect, filter and put on view sports data in real-time.

Market observers see the acquisition as part of Facebook's effort to emerge more like rival social-networking site Twitter, which allows its users to see what other users are saying about a common subject.

Justin Osofsky, vice president of media partnerships & global operations at Facebook, said the acquisition would enable them to meaningfully improve the ability for all of the company's partners to access and utilize the insights from the company's tools and APIs.

Confirming the acquisition, Osofsky added, "SportStream's demonstrated track record of 'surfacing' interesting and engaging content, along with their deep understanding of our products, means that we will be able to build a better experience for the people."

He further said that the addition of SportStream team would enable Facebook to work more closely with its media partners.