Elon Musk tries to buy Twitter for $41billion: Tesla CEO offers $54.20 a share
Elon Musk tries to buy Twitter for $41BILLION: Tesla CEO offers $54.20 a share and says if his offer is not accepted ‘I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder. Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it’
He provided a letter to Twitter Inc. on Wednesday containing a proposal to buyThe outspoken Tesla CEO currently owns more than 9 percent of Twitter’s stockShares of Twitter jumped nearly 12 percent before the market open on Thursday He said investment bank Morgan Stanley was the financial adviser for the offer Last week, Musk backed out of an agreement to join Twitter’s board of directors Musk has amassed over 80 million followers since joining the site in 2009
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Billionaire Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter for $41.39billion, a regulatory filing showed on Thursday.
Musk’s offer price of $54.20 per share represents a 38 percent premium to the closing price of Twitter’s stock on April 1, the last trading day before the Tesla CEO’s over 9 percent investment in the company was publicly announced.
Twitter Inc. said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that Musk, who is the company’s biggest shareholder, provided a letter to the company on Wednesday that contained a proposal to buy the remaining shares of Twitter that he doesn’t already own.
Shares of Twitter jumped nearly 12 percent before the market open.
The outspoken Tesla CEO, known for his social media antics, told Bret Taylor, the Chairman of the Board: ‘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.
‘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.
Billionaire Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter for $41.39 billion, a regulatory filing showed on Thursday
Shares of Twitter jumped nearly 12 percent before the market open
‘As a result, I am offering to buy 100 percent of Twitter for $54.20 per share in cash, a 54 percent premium over the day before I began investing in Twitter and a 38 percent premium over the day before my investment was publicly announced.
‘My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder.
‘Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it.’
Musk added that his offer was not a ‘threat’, but ‘it’s simply not a good investment without the changes that need to be made.’
‘And those changes won’t happen without taking the company private.’
He called that price his best and final offer, although the billionaire provided no details on financing. The offer is non-binding and subject to financing and other conditions.
The total deal value was calculated based on 763.58million shares outstanding, according to Refinitiv data.
Musk rejected an offer to join Twitter’s board earlier this week after disclosing his stake in the company, a move which analysts said signaled his intention to take over the company as a board seat would have limited his stake to just under 15 percent.
Musk has amassed over 80 million followers since joining the site in 2009 and has used the platform to make several announcements, including teasing a go-private deal for Tesla that landed him in hot water with regulators.
Musk said investment bank Morgan Stanley was the financial adviser for the offer.
The outspoken Tesla CEO, known for his social media antics, told Bret Taylor, the Chairman of the Board: ‘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’
Twitter Inc. said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that Musk provided a letter to the company on Wednesday that contained a proposal to buy the remaining shares of Twitter that he doesn’t already own
Musk has been a vocal critic of of Twitter in recent weeks, mostly over his belief that it falls short on free speech principles.
The social media platform has angered followers of Donald Trump and other far-right political figures who’ve had their accounts suspended for violating its content standards on violence, hate or harmful misinformation. Musk also has a history of his own tweets causing legal problems.
It comes after analysts speculated that Musk‘s roller coaster journey as Twitter‘s largest shareholder could be part of a ploy to stage a hostile take-over of the company.
Musk revealed last week that he had become Twitter’s largest shareholder, with a 9.2 percent stake in the company, on March 14.
Analysts speculated that Musk’s roller coaster journey as Twitter’s largest shareholder could be part of a ploy to stage a hostile take-over of the company
One day after he disclosed his stake, platform CEO Parag Agrawal announced the Tesla co-founder had been invited to the join the company’s board of directors, a seat he gladly accepted.
By accepting the board seat, Musk was limited in how much of the company’s shares he could own, with a 14.9 percent cap.
However, on Sunday Parag announced the SpaceX CEO formally declined his board seat.
Musk, 50, signed the new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Monday indicating he had declined his board seat.
The document stated Musk could ‘express his views’ about Twitter’s policies and services to the board or on social media. He could also purchase additional shares or sell Twitter stock, if he saw fit.
