Mr. Musk, the richest person in the world according to Forbes tally, is negotiating the purchase of Twitter in a personal capacity, and Tesla has no stake in the deal
Mr. Musk, the richest person in the world according to Forbes tally, is negotiating the purchase of Twitter in a personal capacity, and Tesla has no stake in the deal
Twitter Inc. is poised to agree a sale to Elon Musk for around $43 billion in cash, the price the Tesla Inc. chief executive has called his “best and final” offer for the social media company , said people familiar with the matter.
Twitter could announce the $54.20-per-share deal later Monday after its board of directors meets to recommend the transaction to Twitter shareholders, the sources said. It’s always possible for the deal to fall through at the last minute, the sources added.
Mr. Musk, the richest person in the world according to Forbes tally, is negotiating the purchase of Twitter in a personal capacity, and Tesla has no stake in the deal.
Twitter has so far been unable to secure a “go shop” provision under its agreement with Mr Musk, which would allow it to solicit other offers once the deal is signed, the sources said.
Still, Twitter is likely to accept an offer from another party by paying Mr Musk a break-up fee, the sources added.
The sources asked for anonymity as the matter is confidential. Twitter and Mr. Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Twitter shares rose 4.5% to $51.15 in premarket trading in New York on Monday.
Mr Musk has said that in order to grow and become a true free speech platform, Twitter needs to be privatized.
The deal would come just four days after Mr Musk unveiled a funding package to support the acquisition. This prompted Twitter’s board to take the deal more seriously, and many shareholders asked the company not to pass up the deal opportunity, Reuters reported on Sunday.
The sale would mark an admission by Twitter that its new chief executive, Parag Agrawal, who took the helm in November, is not gaining enough momentum to make the company more profitable, although he is on track to meet ambitious financial targets , which the company has set itself for 2023. Twitter shares were still trading above Mr Musk’s offer price as recently as November.
Mr. Musk’s negotiation tactic — make an offer and stick with it — is similar to the way another billionaire, Warren Buffett, negotiates takeovers. Mr. Musk didn’t provide any funding details when he first posted his bid for Twitter, leaving the market skeptical about his prospects.
