Elon Musk, at a TED talk, on Thursday this week. Photo by AFP
Twitter began mobilizing to defend itself against Elon Musk’s $ 43 billion hostile takeover bid, announcing on Friday a plan to prevent the business tycoon from easily buying your shares.
The plan would “reduce the likelihood of any entity, person or group gaining control of Twitter through open market accumulation without paying all shareholders an adequate control premium or providing adequate control over the board of directors to make informed decisions. ” “said a statement from the company.
That clause, also known as “toxic pill” financial jargon, It will be activated if a shareholder exceeds 15% of the company’s shares without the approval of the board of directors.
Elon Musk, the South African tycoon who owns electric car company Tesla and aerospace company SpaceX, currently holds more than 9% of Twitter’s share capital.
If Musk buys enough titles to exceed 15%, all remaining holders of platform shares will be able to buy more papers at a discount, which will greatly increase the price the trader has to pay. to fully control the social network.
The Twitter announcement shows that the San Francisco (western USA) -based platform plans to defend itself against the hostile proposal of the world’s richest man. to buy it and make it a closed capital company.
Musk’s proposal faces questions in several areas, including a possible decline and the challenge of raising the money offered, but it could have a far -reaching impact on the social network if it is implemented.
On Thursday, he declared he had “sufficient funds” for the transaction and said he had plan B if Twitter’s board rejected the offer. Also, stressed that he was not looking to “make money” in the acquisition, in a live interview at the Ted2022 conference.
Twitter’s position on Musk
Musk bought most of the Twitter shares and is going for more. Photo by Reuters
There are several versions revolving around this question. For one thing, the company’s CEO, Parag Agrawal, did not speak publicly. Be it Jack Dorsey, founder and character with huge influence in the world of technology.
All Agrawal did was warn his employees that it was going to be a chaotic week, know that Rumors of the purchase and then Musk’s intentions stir up the trumpet’s nest.
A Bloomberg article has painted a panorama of the climate that exists in Twitter’s offices: absolute malaise. Even Slack channels are filled with comments, criticism and doubt.
So far, the only official item from the company is a statement in which it said it will review the offer “to determine the course of action that is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders.”
Right now, Twitter is moving into ambiguity and not setting definition dates.
On the other hand, experts agree that the chances of completing the transaction are low: a purchase of Musk will play against the social network.
The reasons? First of all, market analysts insist the price is low. Twitter is worth more than $ 43 billion”Is one of the most widely read comments on Wall Street analyst boards.
But there is another underlying problem. Fred Wilson, an investor at the company, said that whatever money is on the table, it’s not a good idea for Twitter to be “controlled by someone.”
It remains to be seen what happens this week, where there may be definitions.
Source: Clarin