admin Elon Musk, in his attempt to make Twitter a platform for free speech, may be several steps closer to buying it. A self-described free-speech absolutist, he has secured $46.5 billion in funding to acquire Twitter Inc, and is considering a tender offer for its shares, as stated in a filing with US regulators on Thursday.
The breakup of this funding includes a majority of it coming from Musk himself, who has committed to contribute $33.5 billion, which will include- $21 billion of equity and $12.5 billion of margin loans. The remaining $13 billion dollar comes from banks, including Morgan Stanley, which will help finance the transaction.
This particular transaction from Musk has drawn private equity interest in engaging in a deal for Twitter. Apollo Global Management Inc, one of the largest asset managers serving many of the world’s most prominent investors, is considering various avenues it can take to help secure financing this deal and has not shied away from admitting to work with Musk, or any other bidder for that matter. Meanwhile, Thoma Bravo, a leading private equity firm with a 40-year history, that it is also giving consideration of putting together its own bid.
In response, Twitter has only released a statement, stating that the board has received Musk’s proposal and is committed to conducting a thorough, complete and measured review to formulate a strategy that it believes is in the best interest of the company and all Twitter stockholders.
Twitter’s board has already created obstacles in the billionaire’s acquisition. A day after his proposal, the board adopted a “poison pill” approach to forestall Musk and buy the board some time to plan. As the name indicates, a poison pill is synonymous to something that’s difficult to swallow or accept. A company targeted for an unwanted takeover, in this case Twitter, may use a poison pill to make its shares unfavorable to the acquiring firm or individual, Musk. Formally also known as a shareholder rights plan, poison pill also significantly raise the cost of acquisitions and create big disincentives to foil such attempts completely.
Musk, who is an active Twitter user and has a following of over 80 million, has made a number of posts on the platform, some of which have landed him in trouble with U.S. regulators. Musk believes he can “unlock” Twitter’s true power by taking the company private and loosening its rules on what its users are allowed to post.
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