3:56 pm, April 14, 2022
Elon Musk could become the new owner of Twitter after offering to buy it for more than $40bn, it was revealed today (Apr 14).
It comes some 10 days after he bought a 9.2 per cent stake in the social media platform.
At the time, it was believed that he would become a director, but it was subsequently announced that he wouldn’t be joining its board.
When Musk bought his shares, Dan Ives, of investment firm Wedbush Securities, tweeted: ‘We would expect this passive stake as just the start of broader conversations with the Twitter board/management that could ultimately lead to an active stake; more aggressive ownership role of Twitter.’
That prediction would appear to be taking a more solid shape, with a regulatory filing showing the billionaire Tesla and SpaceX boss now proposes buying ‘100% of Twitter for $54.20 per share in cash’, which values the company at $41.39bn – circa £31.7bn.
Musk wants to take it private, saying he believes changes are needed to help the site thrive and better support free speech.
In his offer letter to Twitter board chairman Bret Taylor, Musk says he invested in the social media platform ‘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, he added that ‘since making my investment I now realise the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form’.
He called the move his ‘best and final offer’ and if it wasn’t accepted he ‘would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder’.
In the past, Musk has said he doesn’t believe Twitter lives up to the principles of free speech.
Following the publication of the regulatory filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk tweeted to confirm his proposal, posting ‘I made an offer’ alongside a link to the filing.
I made an offer https://t.co/VvreuPMeLu
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2022
Twitter has confirmed receiving the offer and says it’ll consider it.
Meanwhile, Musk is facing a potential class action over his Twitter shares acquisition.
The Times reported that Marc Bain Rasella has filed a lawsuit ‘on behalf of all investors’ who sold shares in the platform between March 24 and April 1.
Rasella claims Musk left them out of pocket because he didn’t reveal soon enough what he was doing.
It’s estimated Musk saved some $143m (circa £110m) by delaying his announcement, which meant he bought the shares at prices that were artificially ‘deflated’.
He should have made his disclosure by March 24, as the number of shares that he bought totalled more than five per cent, but he only did so on April 4, the lawsuit claims.
