If true to his word, however, Musk could withdraw his offer, and might even sell all of his shares in Twitter. In his communications with Twitter's board, Musk said $54.20 a share was his "best and final offer," which struck many Wall Street analysts as bizarre, since mergers and acquisitions typically follow a lengthy negotiation process. On Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported the buyout firm Apollo Global, which owns Yahoo, is weighing getting involved in the Twitter drama, by providing financing to Musk or another potential buyer. Silver Lake's co-CEO Egon Durban joined Twitter's board in 2020 as part of an agreement with another activist investor, Elliott Management, which has criticized Twitter's sluggish growth. One possibility that observers are buzzing about: the private equity firm Silver Lake, which worked with Musk on his failed attempt to take Tesla private in 2018. Musk himself could also team up with other investors to bolster his bid. The private equity firm Thoma Bravo, which owns software companies including antivirus provider McAfee, is working on a potential bid for Twitter, the New York Post reported last week. ![]() "One thing has unquestionably done is to start conversations about the future of the company – whether in fact Twitter will remain a publicly traded company or will it be acquired." "This is a moment in time which may not be replicable in the future," said Scott Kessler, analyst at research firm Third Bridge. But now, Musk's offer has put Twitter in play once again. Will other buyers emerge from the wings or give Musk the money he needs?Ĭompanies from Disney to Salesforce have considered buying Twitter over the years, though none of those deals materialized. Twitter shares rose 7.5% to $48.45 on Monday, but are still trading below Musk's offer price of $54.20 a share, suggesting investors remain skeptical about his chances of success. Financing a deal north of $40 billion tied to a stock with a history of volatility carries a lot of risk. Most analysts assume Musk would have to take out a loan against his Tesla stock, which accounts for the bulk of his wealth, but some are skeptical he would be able to convince a bank to cooperate. There are drawbacks for Musk: making an offer directly to shareholders would require him to explain how he plans to finance his purchase, which the maverick billionaire has not done so far. While the board of directors has a duty to act in the best interest of Twitter's investors, Musk has argued that "their economic interests are simply not aligned with shareholders." He was replying to a tweet noting that directors other than former CEO Jack Dorsey (who is leaving the board in May) own very little Twitter stock. Musk has tweeted several times recently saying that the company's investors should get to make the final decision about a sale. If Musk's offer is attractive enough, however, shareholders could pressure the board to scrap the poison pill. Some observers took that as a hint that he may try to appeal directly to Twitter shareholders with what's known as a tender offer, naming a price at which he'd buy their shares.īut that is exactly the sort of hostile move that the poison pill is designed to discourage. On Saturday, Musk tweeted "Love Me Tender" – the name of an Elvis Presley song. Twitter has hired Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase as advisors, and analysts say the company and its bankers are likely already evaluating other potential suitors. The board could also try to find an alternative buyer – often referred to as a "white knight" – or even open up a formal public sale process. It's a defensive move, and it gives the board more time to consider Musk's offer. If that threshold were crossed, the board could inundate the market with discounted shares that Musk wouldn't be able to purchase, diluting his stake. The measure would make it more expensive for Musk or anyone else to increase their stake in the company to 15% or more. On Friday, the board put in place a "poison pill" – formally known as a shareholder rights plan – to fend off Musk, who currently owns about 9% of Twitter shares. ![]() Business Twitter CEO addresses employees worried about Elon Musk's hostile takeover bid
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