Twitter is ready to agree to Elon Musk’s now $44 billion takeover bid, the Wall Street Journal reported, as the Tesla CEO holds his “best and final”” offer of $43 billion at $54.20 per share.
Updated at 1:22 pm EST
Twitter (TWTR) – Get Twitter, Inc. Report shares jumped to session highs Monday amid fresh reports that executives on the board of the social media group are ready to agree to Elon Musk’s $43 billion takeover offer.
The Wall Street Journal, along with multiple media outlets, suggest the deal could be finalized after the close of trading Monday following “advance” discussions the billionaire Tesla TSLA CEO over the weekend.
Musk, who made an unsolicited $43 billion offer to take the company private earlier this month, pricing the group at a “best and final” $54.20 per share, has lined-up $46.5 billion in financing as part of his pursuit, according to SEC filings last week, and has been wooing shareholders via this Twitter account — which has more than 81 million followers — for much of the past two weeks.
The financing is tied to conditions linked to Musk’s ‘unencumbered’ shares in Tesla; Musk owns around 173 million shares in the clean-energy carmaker, around 88 million of which have been used to secure various personal loans.
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Stocks Slump on China Covid, Rate Worries, Twitter May Talk to Musk, Tesla, AT&T and Week Ahead In Focus – 5 Things To KnowThe Journal said earlier Monday that Twitter is in ‘advanced’ talks with Musk, adding a deal could me made public as early as this week. Bloomberg reported the deal could be announced as early as today.
Reuters reported Sunday that while Twitter has not yet decided to accept Musk’s bid, which both the company and some of its major shareholders have derided as too low, it is nonetheless ready to engage on both the merits of the proposed takeover and any legal entanglements from Musk’s many run-ins with the SEC in his role as Tesla boss.
Twitter shares were marked 5.9% higher in early afternoon trading Monday to change hands at $51.77 each.
Musk would likely need a board recommendation to complete his purchase of the group after Twitter adopted a so-called ‘poison pill’ defense earlier this month. The move allows existing shareholders to buy more Twitter stock at a discount should any one, or a group of, investors gain control of 15% of the company without board approval.
Another risk hinges on the opinion of Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, who considers himself one of Twitter’s “largest and long-term shareholders” and has said Musk’s bid doesn’t come close to matching “the intrinsic value of Twitter given its growth prospects”
