Published , by Bill Lavoy
Published , by Bill Lavoy
The story surrounding Elon Musk’s attempt to buy Twitter (TWTR) turned another page today when news broke that the billionaire had secured $46.5 billion to help finance a potential deal.
Musk’s filing details that he’s received commitments for a total of $46.5 billion, including $25.5 billion in debt financing from Morgan Stanley Senior Funding and other firms, as well as $21 billion in equity financing. Other firms that have contributed to the commitment are Bank of America, Barclays, MUFG, Mizuho Bank, BNP Paribas, and Societe Grenerale. According to Yahoo! Finance, TWTR is up more than 1% today, trading at $47.30 per share at the time of publishing. Worth noting, however, is that this share price means Twitter is trading well below Musk's new offer price.
In early April, Musk purchased a giant stake in Twitter worth $2.89 billion and 9.2% of the company. In the following days, Musk was set to join Twitter’s board of directors, but opted out after. According to CNBC, the offer to join the board of directors came with a condition that Musk could not buy more than 14.9% of Twitter. Whether that was the primary reason Musk decided not to join the Twitter board of directors remains to be seen, but it’s quite possible. If Musk truly intends to purchase Twitter, being held to just 14.9% of shares would block that.
Twitter has also taken steps to prevent a potential hostile takeover from Musk, adopting a “poison pill” shareholder rights plan. This plan would allow Twitter shareholders to purchase additional shares at a discount should any person or group acquire more than 15% of Twitter’s outstanding common stock without the board’s blessing.
Musk’s intention to pursue a tender offer for Twitter may have been leaked by the world’s richest man on the very social media platform he wants to purchase. On April 16, 2022, Musk tweeted out “Love Me Tender”, which is either a giant coincidence or a tease about the tender offer he is now exploring.
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