Twitter Considering Elon Musk’s Offer, Deal May Be Finalised soon

Elon Musk had offered to buy Twitter for $43 billion earlier this month, after buying 9 per cent of its stake

California: Microblogging platform Twitter is in the last leg of selling itself to Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the deal is likely to be sealed soon, reports on the day suggested. As per sources quoted by the media, Twitter may announce the deal later on Monday, and the negotiations are still going on. Musk has offered $43 billion to buy all stake of Twitter, in what he described as his “best and final” offer.

The deal, if it goes away, will have Tesla CEO Elon Musk buying shares of Twitter at $54.20 apiece, Reuters reported. Twitter may announce the $43 billion deal later on Monday once its board has met to recommend the transaction to Twitter shareholders, sources told the news agency.

The social media giant is “working to hammer out terms of a transaction and could reach an agreement as soon as Monday if negotiations go smoothly,” Bloomberg quoted a person with knowledge of the matter as saying.

According to sources, Twitter has not been able to execute a go-shop provision so far, under its agreement with Elon Musk that would allow the company to look at other bids from potential acquirers, after the deal is signed. “Still, Twitter would be allowed to accept an offer from another party by paying Musk a break-up fee,” Reuters reported quoting the sources. Twitter or Musk have not responded to comments regarding this.

Twitter Inc kicked off deal negotiations with Elon Musk  after he wooed many of the social media company’s shareholders with financing details on his $43 billion acquisition offer, Reuters had reported quoting sources earlier on Sunday.

Musk, chief executive of electric car giant Tesla Inc, has been meeting with Twitter shareholders in the last few days, seeking support for his bid. He has said Twitter needs to be taken private to grow and become a genuine platform for free speech.

Many Twitter shareholders reached out to the company after Musk outlined a detailed financing plan for his bid on Thursday and urged it not to let the opportunity for a deal slip away, Reuters reported earlier on Sunday.

On April 14, Elon Musk in a regulatory filing said he has offered to buy 100 per cent stake of Twitter, days after it was disclosed he had bought 9.2 per cent stake in the company. “I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy,” Musk said.

However, Twitter was hostile to this offer and adopted a ‘poison pill’ to sell its stake to existing shareholders to thwart Musk’s approach. However, the Tesla CEO did not give up and said he has arranged USD 46.5 billion to buy out the social media company. The latest development comes at a time when Twitter is talking to its board to discuss the negotiations, but a collapse in the decision is always possible.