News Tech and Science

Elon Musk says Twitter board must be concerned about other bidders not me

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, stated on Sunday that the Board of Directors of Twitter should be more concerned about other potential bidders than him, who has made a fair offer to acquire 100% of the microblogging platform for $43 billion.

He was responding to a follower who claimed that the Twitter board of directors had threatened to dilute their shareholders’ stake in the company, which amounted to criminal negligence.

The Musk follower commented: “The Twitter Board, excluding Jack Dorsey, only owns 0.12% of Twitter. They have not only, behind closed doors, rejected @elonmusk’s offer to purchase the company 20% above market value.AAThey have threatened to dilute their shareholder’s stake in the company. Criminal negligence?”

Musk replied: “In fairness to the Twitter board, this might be more of a concern about other potential bidders vs just me”.

Musk is one of Twitter’s largest shareholders, owning 9.2 percent of the company.

Vanguard Group announced last week that its funds now own 10.3 percent of Twitter, making it the company’s largest shareholder.

Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, who turned down Elon Musk’s offer, owns about 5.2% of Twitter.

Goldman Sachs, which is advising the Twitter Board to reject the deal, currently has a $30 price target on Twitter’s stock, which is 45 percent lower than Musk’s offer.

As Twitter employs the ‘poison pill’ strategy to prevent Elon Musk from forcibly acquiring the microblogging platform, the Tesla CEO is reportedly speaking with investors who could partner with him on the acquisition.

According to a report in The New York Post citing sources, “a new plan that includes partners could be announced within days”.

Musk may join “private-equity firm Silver Lake Partners, which was planning to co-invest with him in 2018 when he was considering taking Tesla private”.

Silver Lake co-CEO Egon Durban serves on the Twitter board of directors.

“He led Musk’s deal team during the 2018 failed effort to take Tesla private,” the report said.

About the author

Brendan Taylor

Brendan Taylor was a TV news producer for 5 and a half years. He is an experienced writer. Brendan covers Breaking News at Insider Paper.







Daily Newsletter