Elon Musk made a hostile offer on Twitter with an offer valuing the company at $ 43.4 billion, although he acknowledged that his move to make the social media platform private could fail.
Musk’s $ 54.20 share offer came days after he took a 9 percent stake in the company, becoming the largest shareholder, but declined an invitation to join the board.
The move will turn the tech entrepreneur into a social media baron, able to determine the future direction of a platform with 80 million followers that he has used to pursue personal revenge and promote his agenda.
The entrepreneur announced the offer on Thursday in a document to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, saying he would “unlock” the company’s potential to be “a platform for free speech around the world.”
Speaking at a TED conference in Vancouver on Thursday after the announcement, Musk said he had “enough assets” to fund the deal, but admitted: “I’m not sure I’ll actually be able to acquire it.”
He said he intended to keep “as many shareholders as the law allows in a private company”, insisting he did not want to “monopolize” or “maximize” his ownership of Twitter.
“I’m not interested in economics at all,” he said. He added that there is a “Plan B” if the offer is not successful, although he did not give more details.
Musk’s offer is a 38% surcharge on Twitter shares from April 1, three days before its stake went public, although it is still 26% below its 12-month high, reflecting a decline in Wall Street’s confidence before he intervened. .
He hinted that he could leave if the deal failed.
“My offer is my best and last offer and if it is not accepted, I will have to reconsider my position as a shareholder,” Musk wrote.
Shares on Twitter fell 1.68% to $ 45.08.
In an interview with TED, Musk said Twitter must “match the laws” of each country, adding: “I think we would like to make a mistake if we doubt leaving speech to exist. . . If this is a gray area, I would say let the tweet exist.
Asked about his plans for the company if he manages to buy it, Musk said Twitter should avoid deleting posts and advocated a “timeout” over “permanent bans” – a position that could eventually pave the way back of banned figures, such as former US President Donald Trump, to the platform.
He also said he would prioritize removing spam and armies of bots from Twitter, open source the platform’s algorithm, and introduce more transparency when users’ tweets are boosted or suppressed in their feed.
I made an offer https://t.co/VvreuPMeLu
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2022
Twitter said its board “will carefully review the proposal to determine the course of action it believes is in the best interests of the company and all Twitter shareholders.”
The company is considering a “poison pill”, a mechanism that could be used to dilute the actions of a hostile investor to thwart Musk’s offer, according to a person informed of internal discussions on Twitter.
In a tweet, Saudi business mogul Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said that as one of Twitter’s biggest long-term shareholders, he had turned down Musk’s offer to take over. The prince added that he did not believe that the offer “is close to the intrinsic value of Twitter, given its growth prospects.”
Musk’s offer comes a few days later for the company, which shook its management and staff.
Musk acquired its shares on March 14, but did not publicly announce the case until April 4, exceeding the 10-day limit required by federal commercial law for investors to notify the SEC.
Following the news that Musk is becoming the largest shareholder on Twitter, the company’s shares rose by 27 percent. A day later, Musk reached a preliminary agreement with the company to join the board of directors, but suddenly changed course without explanation after spending the weekend criticizing the platform and offering new features in tweets that were later deleted.
A tweet Musk “liked” on the platform suggested that he “became the biggest shareholder in free speech” and was “told to play well and not to speak freely.”
Tesla’s CEO used Twitter to announce his intentions to make the electric car maker private in 2018 in a post that said: “I’m considering taking Tesla’s private price of $ 420. Funding provided. “
The proposal was abandoned only weeks later, after discussions with shareholders.
Musk and the carmaker paid a fine to the SEC in an agreement after they were accused of fraud in securities for the post. The company’s lawyer is now required to approve all Musk tweets containing information material to Tesla – a decision he is trying to overturn.
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