Latest News by Industry
• SEC filing says Musk can express his views on social media
• Musk will discuss ‘potential business combinations and strategic alternatives’ with board members
Billionaire Elon Musk may acquire additional shares in Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) as he backs out from accepting a position on the social media company’s board.
An SEC filing on Amended Statement of Beneficial Ownership filed on Monday said Musk has no “present plans or intentions” to buy more shares but “reserves the right to change his plans at any time” after evaluating various factors, including the stock price and the “relative attractiveness of alternative business and investment opportunities.”
Moreover, Musk’s abrupt reversal over joining the board ignited renewed speculation about Tesla Inc’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO intentions for the social media company, as he is no longer subject to an agreement to keep his stake below 14.9%.
Shares of Twitter jumped over 3.2% to $47.70 in New York over the speculation.
Whether Musk chooses to take over the micro-blogging social media company, he can make a hostile bid for the company and take his offer directly to shareholders.
Twitter’s shares had their best day since its IPO after Musk first disclosed he had taken a stake of just over 9% — becoming the company’s largest individual shareholder makes any further stake-building increasingly expensive.
Shares surged about 30% over two days last week.
However, Musk, who is currently worth about $260 billion, can easily take over Twitter, whose market valuation is around $37 billion.
The SEC filings said that Musk could engage in discussions with the board members about “potential business combinations and strategic alternatives” and also noted that the billionaire can express his views to the board “or the public through social media or other channels.”
“This is clearly going to be an unfriendly situation,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives told CNBC.
“Instead of Musk in the boardroom in the corner just saying nay or agreeing on certain board candidates, I think now it really goes to the point that in the coming days I think we’ll start to see if he’s going to go more hostile, more active — that’s what the Street’s focused on,” Ives said.
Picture Credit: The Guardian
ALSO READ: