Musk Takes 9.2% Stake In Twitter

[rennigade]

Well, there you have it. Musk is trying to buy twitter for $43 billion.

[disneysteve]

Well, there you have it. Musk is trying to buy twitter for $43 billion.

I'm not surprised. It certainly explains why he didn't want to be on the board. That would have limited him to about 15% ownership, required him to act as a fiduciary and do what is in the company's best interests, and greatly limit what he could say publicly on Twitter and elsewhere.

I hope it doesn't go through but we'll see what happens.

[kork13]

Well, there you have it. Musk is trying to buy twitter for $43 billion.

"Trying" is a reach... Per his usual semi-trolling nature, it was another one of his quips on social media asking his followers if he should just go ahead & buy the company entirely. But will be actually pursue it? Depends on how much he dislikes Twitter I guess. Seems like he'd be just as happy to buy it out only to spin it off & shut it down. But again.... He's rather a troll.


ETA: I stand corrected! Thanks James. In any case, I don't expect Musk will successfully buy out Twitter, massive resources notwithstanding.

[james.hendrickson]

Its not trolling, he has staked an offer with the SEC.

Here is the filing, per twitter.

In the filing:

On April 13, 2022, the Reporting Person delivered a letter to the Issuer (the “Letter”) which contained a non-binding proposal (the “Proposal”) to acquire all of the outstanding Common Stock of the Issuer not owned by the Reporting Person for all cash consideration valuing the Common Stock at $54.20 per share (the “Proposed Transaction”). This represents a 54% premium over the closing price of the Common Stock on January 28, 2022, the trading day before the Reporting Person began investing in the Issuer, and a 38% premium over the closing price of the Common Stock on April 1, 2022, the trading day before the Reporting Person’s investment in the Issuer was publicly announced.

Musk can almost certainly come up with the money. This is likely a serious offer and explains his unwillingness to sit on the board.

[Bill_Klont]

Will Musk use his influence to return Twitter to a free speech platform?

I really hope he will, but it's been said, that he won't be getting into management, at least for now.

[rennigade]

Welp...there you have it. I guess $44 billion buys you twitter.

[james.hendrickson]

Per Reuters:

Elon Musk taking Twitter private in $44 billion deal

By Greg Roumeliotis

NEW YORK, April 25 (Reuters) - Elon Musk clinched a deal to buy Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) for $44 billion cash on Monday in a transaction that will shift control of the social media platform populated by millions of users and global leaders to the world's richest person.

It is a seminal moment for the 16-year-old company that emerged as one of the world's most influential public squares and now faces a string of challenges.

Discussions over the deal, which last week appeared uncertain, accelerated over the weekend after Musk wooed Twitter shareholders with financing details of his offer.

Under pressure, Twitter started negotiating with Musk to buy the company at the proposed $54.20 per share price. "Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated," Musk said in a statement. Shares were up about 6% following the news. The deal represents a near 40% premium to the closing price the day before Musk disclosed he had bought a more than 9% stake. Even so, the offer is below the $70 range where Twitter was trading last year.

The transaction was approved by the board and is now subject to a shareholder vote. In a prepared statement the company said Musk secured $25.5 billion of debt and margin loan financing and is providing a $21 billion equity commitment.
It was not immediately clear what the breakup fee would be or who would run the new company. Twitter's outsized importance as a mouthpiece for politicians, political dissidents and activists belies its relatively small size.

Although it is only about a tenth of the size of far larger social media platforms like Meta Platforms Inc's (FB.O) Facebook, it has been credited with helping spawn the Arab Spring uprising and accused of playing a role in the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol. After Twitter banned former President Donald Trump over concerns around incitement of violence following last year's U.S. Capitol attack by his supporters, Musk tweeted: "A lot of people are going to be super unhappy with West Coast high tech as the de facto arbiter of free speech."

Republicans on Monday cheered the news of a possible Musk buyout of Twitter, betting on Trump's reinstatement on the service. Trump, whose company is building a rival to Twitter called Truth Social, said he will not return to Twitter, according to a Fox News interview.

[disneysteve]

I love the threads of people already asking their Twitter followers what other platform they are going to move to. It looks like plurk, mastodon, and counter social are the top alternatives. I’ll be honest. I’ve never heard of any of those but I may be checking them out soon if Twitter gets trashed.

[kork13]

More applicable to the average investor.... Trading was halted today ahead of the announcement. But how does it work when a publicly traded company is taken private? Do all current shareholders basically get bought out at the buyer's agreed-upon purchase price? Will trading restart at all? He's buying at $54.20/sh, with current prices at $51.xx/sh.... seems like that would drive an immediate jump in value to the $54.20?

[Like2Plan]

But how does it work when a publicly traded company is taken private? Do all current shareholders basically get bought out at the buyer's agreed-upon purchase price?

Well, I don't know the particulars on this deal, but that is what happened when my WWY stock was bought out. WWY was de listed from the stock market. I had shares in certificate form. Obviously, no more dividends and no more carton of Wrigley gum they used to send out every Dec. I mailed in the share certificate for redemption. (I think they would have just sent me a check if the shares had been in electronic form.)

https://www.fool.com/quote/nyse/wwy/

https://www.industryweek.com/leadership/companies-executives/article/21938847/wrigley-sold-to-mars

[james.hendrickson]

Well, I don't know the particulars on this deal, but that is what happened when my WWY stock was bought out. WWY was de listed from the stock market. I had shares in certificate form. Obviously, no more dividends and no more carton of Wrigley gum they used to send out every Dec. I mailed in the share certificate for redemption. (I think they would have just sent me a check if the shares had been in electronic form.)

https://www.fool.com/quote/nyse/wwy/

https://www.industryweek.com/leaders...y-sold-to-mars

Man, I love it when your investments pay perks. Tootsie Roll Industries used to pay a stock dividend and a lot of hotel/airline companies will give their shareholders discounts.

[rennigade]

I love the threads of people already asking their Twitter followers what other platform they are going to move to. It looks like plurk, mastodon, and counter social are the top alternatives. I’ll be honest. I’ve never heard of any of those but I may be checking them out soon if Twitter gets trashed.

My guess is Twitter will evolve and get better. Elon doesn't seem to screw too many things up that he touches. Also, when the founder of Twitter basically says the board sucks, it's time for a change.

Taken from Jack: "The idea and service is all that matters to me, and I will do whatever it takes to protect both. Twitter as a company has always been my sole issue and my biggest regret. It has been owned by Wall Street and the ad model. Taking it back from Wall Street is the correct first step."

[ua_guy]

My guess is Twitter will evolve and get better. Elon doesn't seem to screw too many things up that he touches. Also, when the founder of Twitter basically says the board sucks, it's time for a change.

Taken from Jack: "The idea and service is all that matters to me, and I will do whatever it takes to protect both. Twitter as a company has always been my sole issue and my biggest regret. It has been owned by Wall Street and the ad model. Taking it back from Wall Street is the correct first step."

He financed half and put up considerable cash to get the deal done, borrowing from his own companies. Unmoderated platforms can't generate the money they need. So he has to strike a balance between generating revenue and allowing "free" speech. I think the people most excited by this deal are the ones likely to be the most disappointed. He runs the risk of fracturing the platform too. It currently has value because of its size and reach.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I thought he had a poison pill to not take it private? But either way it'll be good for people to get more than it's worth. Right now the market is sliding so anyone who owns should be thrilled

[rennigade]

Guess Elon may back out of twitter deal. He wanted twitter to prove that less than 5% of posts are from bots...and they cant or wont do it. So everyone who was worried about Elon taking over, you SHOULD be more worried that twitter is allowing bots to run their platform. Just think, a lot of the groups you follow or posts you see may be from a computer. People should pull their heads out of the you know what and stop supporting these social media platforms.

It almost seems like Elon's goal was to expose twitter...mission accomplished.