Musk’s plans to raise finance placed before regulators
Twitter's (NYSE: TWTR) board has reportedly begun talks with world’s richest man Elon Musk exploring his $43-billion takeover bid of the microblogging platform, a Reuters report says.
The board move came following apparent shareholder pressure after Twitter management earlier tried to fend off Musk’s hostile takeover bid. It was reported that the management even considered making it too costly for a hostile bidder to succeed to fend off the Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) owner.
A Twitter spokesperson chose not to comment on the reports.
Details of how Musk intended to fund his offer that were placed before US regulators on Thursday, forced Twitter's 11-member board to consider a deal, Reuters, the New York Times and Bloomberg reported citing anonymous sources. Several Twitter shareholders reportedly urged the company not to miss the opportunity for a deal.
'Beginning of end'
Musk owns a 9% stake in Twitter and has lined up a $46.5-billion financing package, according to a regulatory filing.
Investors will view the discussions "as the beginning of the end for Twitter as a public company, with Musk likely now on apath to acquire the company unless a second bidder comes into the mix," Reuters reported Dan Ives, an analyst at investment firm Wedbush Securities, as saying.
Earlier this month, Musk refused to take a seat on Twitter's board, that would have limited his ownership of shares. He then made an unsolicited offer for the company on April 14, Reuters says.