TWITTER SHARES JUMP ON POSSIBLE DEAL WITH ELON MUSK

Mon 25 April 2022:

Twitter’s stock jumped sharply Monday on news that the firm may soon accept Elon Musk’s hostile takeover bid, a remarkable turnaround from the board’s initial “poison pill” defense to fend off the billionaire entrepreneur’s hostile takeover strategy.

The acquisition, which The Wall Street Journal reported could be announced later today, would put the Tesla CEO in command of the powerful social media site.

The micro-blogging company is working out the terms of a transaction with Musk and could reach an agreement as soon as Monday if negotiations go well, Bloomberg said, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.

Reuters reported Twitter is poised to accept and announce the deal on Monday, once its board has met to recommend the transaction to shareholders.

Twitter’s 11-member board was negotiating with Musk over his offer to buy the company and take it private into the early hours of Monday morning, the New York Times reported.

Musk had earlier this month launched his $43 billion hostile takeover bid for the company, casting it as a promotion of freedom of speech.

While the firm’s board said it was reviewing the offer, it later rebuffed him and adopted a “poison pill” plan that would make it harder for Musk to acquire a controling stake.

Last week, Musk – considered the world’s richest man due to the explosive popularity of Tesla electric vehicles as well as other ventures – said he had lined up $46.5 billion in financing for the deal and was “exploring” a direct tender offer to shareholders.

In a filing, Musk pointed to a $13 billion debt facility from a financing consortium led by Morgan Stanley, a separate $12.5 billion margin loan from the same bank, as well as $21 billion from Musk’s personal fortune as being behind the deal.

However, much of his wealth is invested in Tesla shares — he owns approximately 17% of the company, which is valued at over $1 trillion, according to FactSet — and SpaceX, his privately held space enterprise.

It’s unclear how much money Musk possesses.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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