Musk got what he wanted buying Twitter cash for USD 44 billion
So, Elon Musk is after all buying Twitter and paying cash USD 44 billion! When he recently announced that he wanted to buy all of it after having acquired a bit more than 9% of the share, the markets thought this is after all just Musk being… well just Musk, the big tech enfant terrible.
After having said no to a board position and the board doing what it could to block Musk’s acquisition, it was announced that Musk’s bid was so attractive that shareholders put pressure on the board to after all accept Musk’s offer.
The next chapter of the story is to be announced later. Mush has said he will unlock the social media’s extraordinary potential”. Let’s see what that mans.
Tesla’s CEO, billionaire Musk surprised markets with his interest in Twitter and offered to buy all of Twitter cash. The offer came just a few days after it was known that Musk had bought more than 9% of the shares in the company but, despite that, said no to joining the company’s board of directors.
In a letter to Bret Taylor, chair of Twitter’s board, Mush said “Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it”. In the letter, Musk offers to buy 100% of Twitter for USD 54.20 per share in cash.
Musk’s letter to the chairman is registered at US Securities and Exchange Commission:
“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.
As a result, I am offering to buy 100% of Twitter for $54.20 per share in cash, a 54% premium over the day before I began investing in Twitter and a 38% 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.
Elon Musk”
Less than a week earlier, markets were taken by surprise when it became know that Musk quietly had bought more than 9% of the shares in Twitter and was the company’s biggest shareholder.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal consequently offered Musk a position on the company’s board of directors. Musk himself answered that he was looking forward to working with Agrawal and the team.
“Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!” Musk tweeted.
Days later Agrawal tweeted that Musk had changed his mind and would not be joining the board adding that he thought “this is for the best”.
The Twitter board´s answer was to introduce a so called “poison pill”: If Musk attempts to buy more than 15% of the shares, other investors can buy shares at a discounted price and thereby dilute the value of Musk´s stake.
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