Posted on 04/25/2022 7:41:55 AM PDT by Red Badger
Twitter shares surged as news emerged that Elon Musk’s takeover bid could be accepted by Twitter’s board as early as Monday.
Reuters reported that Twitter’s board of directors is close to reaching a deal with the world’s richest man to sell the social media network for roughly $43 billion in cash.
According to anonymous sources, Twitter may announce the $54.20-per-share deal during the day after its board meets to recommend the transaction to the company’s shareholders. But the deal might potentially fall apart at the last minute, according to the sources.
Twitter’s stock jumped more than 5 percent in pre-market trading on expectations that the company could reach an agreement.
According to Reuters, Twitter was unable to secure a “go-shop” option in its agreement with Musk, which would allow the board to continue actively soliciting bids and negotiating with other potential bidders even after signing a deal with Musk.
Twitter would be allowed to accept another bidder’s offer, however, by paying Musk a break-up fee, the sources said.
Board members gathered on Sunday, according to media reports, to reexamine Musk’s offer after the billionaire announced that he secured the required financing to buy the company and take it private.
The securities filing last week showed that Musk has lined up $25.5 billion in debt financing from Morgan Stanley and other financial institutions, including Bank of America, Barclays, and BNP Paribas. Musk himself has also committed to provide $21 billion in equity financing, according to the document.
How the Twitter-Musk Saga Began A Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing earlier this month revealed that Elon Musk had purchased 9.2 percent of common Twitter stock, representing about 73.5 million shares. The purchase made him the largest shareholder of the social media platform.
His holdings were about four times higher than that of founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey.
Twitter later appointed Musk to its board, with the caveat that he cannot own more than 14.9 percent of the social network, according to a separate SEC filing.
Musk would eventually reject a seat, proposing instead to buy Twitter outright and take it private. He formed three holding companies with the purpose of acquiring the tech firm.
He proposed a “best and final” offer of $54.20 per share, valuing the firm at roughly $43 billion.
“I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy,” he stated in an SEC filing.
“However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company.”
In response to the takeover bid, Twitter employed a so-called poison pill, essentially adopting a limited duration shareholder rights plan that would fight back against a hostile takeover endeavor.
In an updated filing last week, Musk confirmed he had secured $46.5 billion in funding commitments to finance the takeover. This included $25.5 billion in debt financing through Morgan Stanley Senior Funding and other firms, such as Bank of America, Barclays, and BNP Paribas. Musk attained $21 billion in additional equity financing, including $12.5 billion in loans secured by Musk’s Tesla stock.
Referring to himself as a “free speech absolutist,” Musk has put forward a series of revisions for how the social media platform operates to enhance free speech.
Speaking at a recent TED conference in Vancouver, he revealed that he wants to make Twitter a bastion of free speech with fewer restrictions, reiterating his previous stance that Twitter is a de facto public town square.
“I don’t know if I have all the answers here, but I do think that we want to be just very reluctant to delete things and just be very cautious with permanent bans,” Musk said. “Time-outs, I think, are better than permanent bans.”
Even if a tweet is considered to be harmful or controversial, Musk suggested to “let the tweet exist” but he would “not want to necessarily promote that tweet.”
“Having a black-box algorithm promote some things and not other things, I think this can be quite dangerous,” Musk added.
In addition, the billionaire CEO has suggested installing an edit button, allowing subscribers to pay with Dogecoin, and removing advertisements for monthly subscribers.
Over the last month, Twitter shares have rallied nearly 30 percent, trading above $51.
If this goes well I might join Twitter. Just to throw my 2 cents in.
Generally if the media starts pumping something it’s time to short
Once he disclosed that the Board had few shares and interests weren’t aligned with shareholders they had no choice but to accept and recommend.
I said I would never have a twitter account but this may change my mind
I heard on Maria bartiromos show this morning the twitter board members don’t use Twitter or even have accounts.
Interesting
Puts them in the same company as just about everyone else
“Once he disclosed that the Board had few shares and interests weren’t aligned with shareholders they had no choice but to accept and recommend.”
Yes, that was telling.
I’ll only join if Elon TOTALLY FIRES the leftard moderators on Twitter, and if I see Trump tweeting again.
Over the last month, Twitter shares have rallied nearly 30 percent, trading above $51.
***It looks like Musk will be able to control a multiple $billion asset with just a $3/share premium. Not bad at all.
3 weeks ago, I was just talking to one of the executive producers of a TV show and he told me he owns more shares of Twitter than most of the board combined or “close”. They are just figureheads and all lefties.
Twitter reportedly nearing deal to sell itself to Elon Musk
(CNN)Twitter is said to be nearing a deal to sell itself to Elon Musk, according to The New York Times and other outlets, 11 days after the Tesla and SpaceX CEO shocked the industry by offering to buy the company in a deal valuing it at more than $41 billion.
A deal could be finalized as soon as Monday, according to the Wall Street Journal. Twitter declined to comment on the reports.
Reports that a deal is imminent come after Musk revealed last week he had lined up $46.5 billion in financing to acquire the company. Twitter’s board met Sunday to evaluate Musk’s offer to buy all the shares of the company he does not currently own for $54.20 a piece, a source familiar with the deal confirmed to CNN. The source said that discussions about Musk’s bid have turned serious.
The potential sale agreement caps off a whirlwind news cycle that began less than a month ago, when Musk revealed he had taken a more than 9% stake in the company and ramped up calls for changes to the social media platform.
Excerpted: https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/25/tech/elon-musk-twitter-sale-agreement/index.html
That could have been the setup that Musk detected, knowing that it is a weakness in certain situations like the one he introduced.
Amazing how this appears to have worked with some freedom versus censoring by elite mediots.
“Once he disclosed that the Board had few shares and interests weren’t aligned with shareholders they had no choice but to accept and recommend.”
They probably had some monetary liability.
Here's an excerpt from the article in question:
Musk likely has some of the best tech people in the world working for him and advising him. He has to know that Twitter is only operationally viable insofar as the twitter simultaneous user processing systems remain on the backbone of U.S. government big data architecture. Twitter most definitely is not financially stable as a business without govt data-processing subsidy; it’s just too costly and the Twitter service is free for most users.If you accept that Musk is well aware of the cost issue, then he has to have some plan to deal with it – via at least a vision down the road where Twitter is financially viable – or, he’s going to end up needing the same data processing subsidy from the govt, which would inevitably maintain the same ideological underpinning he is trying to remove.
Assuming Musk is legit in his motives, his only leverage in this game of pretend and conquest, is knowing both the provider (govt) and recipient of the subsidy (Jack) do not want the full scope of the public-private partnership exposed.
Source: theconservativetreehouse.com
and you can bet “ceo” Grawal will be fired. When you invite someone and insult them by saying you can only sit at that corner to eat and drink, what would you think? Let bygones be bygones?
I just installed it
First thought was Twitter shared the Trump rally. Oy.
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