The president of Tesla, Elon Musk launched an offensive to buy 100% of Twitter, claiming to be the only person capable of transforming it into a “global platform for free expression” essential for democracy.
Musk offered to “buy 100% of Twitter” at $54.20 a share, which would take the social network’s value to $43.4 billion — up from $36 billion currently — in a filing Wednesday with the stock market’s regulatory agency. US SEC.
Twitter’s board of directors said in a statement that it will “carefully review” Elon Musk’s “unsolicited and non-binding offer.” and that it will decide “the line of action that it creates will best serve the interests of the company and all shareholders.”
The announcement comes days after Musk will reject a seat on the Twitter board of directors after his acquisition of 73.5 million shares of the platform.
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In a letter to the chairman of Twitter’s board of directors, Bret Taylor, Musk claims to have invested in the platform because of the weight it has “across the planet for freedom of expression, a social imperative of any democracy.”
“However, since I made this investment, I realized that the company would not prosper and would not serve that social imperative in its current form,” he estimates, proposing to delist Twitter.
The social network is criticized from conservative ranks for hindering the expression of their opinionsincluding the exclusion of former Republican President Donald Trump.
“Twitter needs to be transformed as a closely held company. That is why I am proposing to buy 100% of Twitter at the price of $54.20 in cash, that is a 54% premium compared to the day before I started my investment in Twitter and the 38% compared to the day before the public announcement of my investment,” Musk explained.
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But this Thursday, the tycoon said he was not “sure if he could buy” the company, and had a plan B in case the offer failed, during a live interview at the Ted2022 conference.
“I just have a strong intuition that having a broadly inclusive, public platform that can be trusted is extremely important for the future of civilization,” he added.
Telenovela
In the document before the SEC, Musk, the main shareholder of Twitter, specified that it is “his best offer and last offer”and threatened, in case of rejection, to “reexamine his position as a shareholder” within the social network.
“Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will uncover it,” he said.
Following the announcement, Twitter stock soared in the stock market, before dipping slightly.
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Although Musk said on Thursday he hopes to bring as many shareholders as possible into the process, one of them has already reacted negatively. Saudi prince and investor Al-Walid ben Talal wrote on Twitter that he “rejected” the offer considered too weak in relation to the “intrinsic value of Twitter”.
For their part, Wedbush analysts said Twitter’s board of directors will have to accept the offer or find another buyer.
“We think that this soap opera will end with the acquisition of Twitter by Mr. Musk after this hostile takeover bid“, They indicated in a note, anticipating a wave of possible questions about financing, regulatory aspects and how the billionaire would divide his time between his various companies.
“I’m not playing back and forth,” Musk wrote in his purchase offer. “I’ve gone straight to the end.”
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Musk, the richest man in the world and with 81 million followers on the social network, disclosed last week a purchase of 73.5 million shares, or 9.2%, of Twitter. That announcement caused a rise of more than 25% in the company’s stock price.
However, a tweet on Saturday questioned whether Twitter was “dying” and drew attention to the accounts of users like singer Justin Bieber, who have legions of followers but rarely post anything.
So his priority, he said in Thursday’s interview, would be to eliminate spam and fraud. But above all, he wants to make content moderation more transparent, so that tweets are no longer “mysteriously promoted or demoted.”
also suggested remove , Twitter’s main source of incomeand the ability to give verified account marks to everyone who pays for a premium subscription, at $3 per month.
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“He’s a man with so many rights and privileges that I’m not sure the Twitter he has in mind is a platform that will ultimately serve the majority of people who are on it today,” said Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanese.
The billionaire is a frequent user of Twitter, where he mixes iconoclastic comments about issues or other public figures with comments about Tesla or SpaceX — his space exploration company — cryptocurrencies or the environment.
AFP