Elon Musk Hints He'll Make a Tender Offer to Take Over Twitter
Elon Musk doesn’t appear ready to give up on efforts to buy Twitter. On Saturday, he tweeted out the words "Love Me Tender," a hint that Musk is preparing to press on with his hostile takeover bid.
It's possible Musk is just an Elvis Presley fan, but it's more likely the tweet is a veiled shot at Twitter’s board of directors, which is pushing back on Musk's $41 billion offer for the company.
Twitter’s board has yet to formally reject the acquisition offer. But on Friday, it did unanimously vote to adopt a “poison pill” defense plan, which is designed to thwart any individual or group from taking over the company through a stock buy.
The poison pill plan would take effect if anyone buys 15% or more of the company’s stock without the approval of the board. If this happens, Twitter would allow existing shareholders to buy additional shares at $210, and receive twice the amount in return. As a result, the poison pill would risk diluting Musk’s current stake in the company, which is at 9%.
With a tender offer, Musk would go directly to shareholders to ask them to sell their shares for a specific price. If he goes that route, he may have to purchase shares at the $54.20 price. The company’s stock is currently valued at $46.64 per share.
Still, Musk seems to be confident the public wants him to take over the company. Last Thursday, he tweeted a poll that asked users if "taking Twitter private at $54.20 should be up to shareholders, not the board." Over 83% of the over 2.85 million people who voted picked yes.
In the meantime, Musk has taken a few jabs at Twitter’s board of directors, portraying them as out of touch with investors and users. He also tweeted that he plans on reducing the salaries of Twitter’s board of
Read more on pcmag.com
