Elon Musk is 'not sure' he can buy Twitter but has a plan B
Elon Musk speaks during a press conference after a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket test flight at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on January 19, 2020. The Tesla boss made a $43 billion bid dollars to buy the social network Twitter.
AP - John Raoux
Text by: RFI Follow
4 mins
After installing himself as the main shareholder of Twitter this month, the wealthy American Elon Musk now wants to completely buy the social network.
For this, the boss of Telsa and Space X puts on the table 43 billion dollars.
The company said “
consider this offer
”.
So why is the billionaire launching this offensive?
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Elon Musk wants to buy Twitter, he says, to transform it.
This is what he writes to the policeman of the American Stock Exchange, the SEC, in his letter which reveals his proposal.
“
I propose to buy 100% of Twitter at a price of 54.20 dollars per share in cash
”, can we read in this document, also addressed to the chairman of the board of directors of the company, Bret Taylor.
The billionaire's proposed price would value Twitter at $43.4 billion, up from around $36 billion today.
Take it or leave it offer.
Will strive to keep as many shareholders in privatized Twitter as allowed by law
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2022
The American business leader, of South African origin, explains that it will be “
his best offer and his final offer
”.
In the event of refusal, Elon Musk threatens to " re-
examine his newly acquired shareholder position
" within the group.
The multibillionaire acquired just over 9% of the capital of the social network at the beginning of the month (73.5 million ordinary shares).
An acquisition that he had justified by the "
major role that Twitter plays in favor of freedom of expression around the world
".
In his new letter, he expresses a certain disappointment since this investment: “
The company,
according to him,
will not serve this imperative in its current form.
»
BREAKING: Here is the letter Elon Musk just sent to the board of Twitter pic.twitter.com/4iHnH9Y1SR
— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) April 14, 2022
Elon Musk is very active and widely followed on Twitter, where 82 million subscribers follow him.
He regularly criticizes the operation of the site, accusing for example the algorithm of violating freedom of expression by displaying tweets rather than others.
Since I made my investment, I realized that the business would not thrive and serve its societal imperative in its current form.
Since his arrival, Elon Musk has multiplied the tweets to suggest modifications or additions that he would like to see appear on the microblogging site, in particular an “edit” button or the removal of advertisements.
In the event of an acquisition, the multi-billionaire wants to take the social network out of the Wall Street Stock Exchange.
To have total control.
He ends his takeover proposal with these words: “
Twitter has extraordinary potential.
I will unlock it.
»
►Read again: Elon Musk lands on Twitter
According to Forbes, Mr. Musk's personal fortune is close to $274 billion, which would make him the richest man in the world today.
On Wall Street, Twitter's stock rose 2.2% to $46.86 at the start of trading on Thursday, April 14.
She flew away when Mr. Musk's offer was made public.
Reaction
By communicating, Twitter confirmed having received "
Elon Musk's unsolicited and non-binding offer to acquire all of the company's outstanding common shares for $54.20 in cash
".
“
Twitter's Board of Directors will carefully review the offer to determine the course of action that it believes best serves the interests of the company and all Twitter shareholders
,” the group added.
Elon Musk says he's not looking to '
make money
'
"
I think it's going to be quite painful and I'm not sure I can buy
it," admitted Elon Musk.
Interviewed at the Ted2022 conference, broadcast live from Vancouver, Canada, he assured that he was not looking to "
make money
".
"
I just have a strong hunch that having a public, broadly inclusive platform that you can trust is extremely important for the future of civilization
," he added in his first speech since. announcement of his proposal.
Pressed on the question of funding, he repeated that he had "
sufficient funds
" and a plan B if the Twitter Board of Directors refuses his offer, without giving further details.
But he explained that he hoped above all to rally to his project as many existing shareholders as possible.
One of the shareholders has already reacted: Saudi Prince Al-Walid bin Talal said on Twitter that he "
rejected
" his offer.
“
I don't think Elon Musk's proposal ($54.20) comes anywhere close to Twitter's intrinsic value, given its growth prospects.
I am one of Twitter's largest and oldest shareholders, and Kingdom Holding Company (his investment fund, editor's note) and I reject this offer
, ”he wrote on the network Thursday.
I don't believe that the proposed offer by @elonmusk ($54.20) comes close to the intrinsic value of @Twitter given its growth prospects.
Being one of the largest & long-term shareholders of Twitter, @Kingdom_KHC & I reject this offer.https://t.co/Jty05oJUTk pic.twitter.com/XpNHUAL6UX
— الوليد بن طلال (@Alwaleed_Talal) April 14, 2022
With agencies
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