Elon Musk says he has commitments for $46.5 billion in financing for Twitter deal
Summary
- The billionaire also said given the lack of a response from Twitter’s board, he is exploring a tender offer to acquire shares of Twitter directly from shareholders
Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk said he has lined up $46.5 billion to fund his bid for Twitter, answering the biggest question that had loomed over his takeover offer.
In a regulatory filing Thursday, Mr. Musk also said he is exploring a tender offer to acquire shares of Twitter directly from shareholders. Twitter’s board hasn’t yet responded to his offer to buy the social-media company for $54.20 a share.
Mr. Musk didn’t say how he would pay for Twitter when he went public with his offer on April 14. In the filing Thursday, he said he has lined up more than $25 billion in debt commitments from banks including Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Corp. and some European and Asian banks, among others, about half of it secured by his shares in Tesla.
Mr. Musk is personally committing $21 billion in equity, according to the filing. A person familiar with the matter said he is still considering bringing in an equity partner and has continued to receive inbound interest.
Twitter said Thursday it received Mr. Musk’s updated proposal with information on potential financing and would carefully review it.
A good portion of the extra $3.5 billion—Mr. Musk’s offer for Twitter comes to roughly $43 billion—likely accounts for the company’s outstanding bonds, which might have to be retired or refinanced.
Twitter shares were little changed midday Thursday. They had been trading well below his offer price in recent days, a sign investor enthusiasm for the deal might be lacking.
Twitter is still likely to reject his bid as too low in the coming days, people familiar with the matter said, though the financing commitments could make them more open to negotiating. Mr. Musk described his bid as his “best and final offer" and hinted he would sell his stake if it was rejected.
Following the unsolicited offer, Twitter adopted a so-called poison pill, a legal maneuver designed to prevent Mr. Musk—the richest man in the world—from amassing more than 15% of the company.
Mr. Musk, with over 82 million Twitter followers, has long used the platform to pronounce his views on everything from space travel to cryptocurrencies. In January, he began buying Twitter stock, becoming the single-largest individual investor with a more than 9% stake by April.
Since then he has been using his Twitter account to criticize the company, especially its approach to content moderation, which he believes impedes free speech.
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text
