Elon Musk speaks at the Automotive World News Congress on January 13, 2015 at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan. REUTERS / Rebecca Cook / File Photo
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April 14 (Reuters)-Elon Musk offers to buy Twitter (TWTR.N) The social media company he often criticizes was about $ 41 billion in cash, saying it needed to be kept private to see effective changes.
The $ 54.20 per share price of Mask, disclosed in a regulatory filing Thursday, represents a 38% premium to Twitter’s closing price on April 1, the last trading day before Tesla. increase. (TSLA.O) More than 9% of the CEO’s shares have gone public.
Billionaires declined to offer to join Twitter’s board earlier this week after revealing their investment in the company. read more
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In a letter to Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor, Musk realized that “since the investment, the company has neither responded to this social demand in its current form nor prospered. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company. “
Musk, who claims to be an absolutist of free speech, is critical of the social media platform and its policies and recently voted to ask users if they believe the platform adheres to the principles of free speech. I went on Twitter.
“My offer is my best and final offer, and if it is unacceptable, I will need to rethink my position as a shareholder,” Musk added.
Twitter will review Mask’s offer with advice from Goldman Sachs & Company and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, sources told Reuters.
The company’s stock surged 12% in pre-market trading, while Tesla’s stock fell about 1%. According to Refinitiv data, the total transaction value was calculated based on 763.58 million issued shares.
Musk has attracted more than 80 million followers since joining the site in 2009 and has made several announcements, including teasing Tesla’s private contract that landed him in boiling water with regulatory agencies. I’m using a platform.
He was also sued by a former Twitter shareholder who claimed to have missed a recent rise in stock prices because he took too long to disclose his shares. read more
Twitter’s growth prospects are questionable, despite lower-than-expected Twitter users in recent months and large-scale projects such as audio chat rooms and newsletters to end the long-term stagnation. Is being thrown.
“It’s difficult for other bidders / consortia to emerge, and Twitter’s board of directors will be forced to accept this bid or go through an aggressive process to sell Twitter,” Wedbush Securities said. Analyst Daniel Ives wrote in a client note.
“There are a lot of questions about the balance of funding, regulation and mask time (Tesla, SpaceX) in the next few days, but in the end, based on this submission, will Twitter accept it or not at all? I wouldn’t bid, “Ives said.
Musk said Morgan Stanley was the financial adviser to the offer.
“Twitter can be extraordinary. I unleash it,” Musk said in a letter.
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Reported by Chavi Mehta, Uday Sampath and Greg Romeriotis. Edited by Anil D’Silva
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