Twitter Shares Rise Amid Speculation Of Elon Musk Takeover Deal
By Jason Hall
April 25, 2022
Twitter's shares rose more than 5% in pre-market trade amid speculation that billionaire Elon Musk could reach a takeover deal as soon as Monday (April 25).
BBC.com reports share trading in Twitter's stock increased its price up 5.1% to $51.57, though still remaining below Musk's offer price of $54.20 per share, prior to the U.S. stock market opening on Monday.
Bloomberg.com reports Twitter's board met with Musk, whose net worth is listed on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index at about $273 billion, making him the world's richest person -- over the weekend to discuss his $43 billion to purchase the remaining shares of the social media company.
Twitter had initially rejected Musk's approach, however, a source with knowledge of the situation told Bloomberg that negotiations are now "in the final stretch."
Musk has offered to acquire the remaining shares of the company for $54.20 per share, valuing Twitter at $43.4 billion, according to an SEC filing, which the billionaire shared on his verified account on April 14.
The figures represent a 38% premium over Twitter's April 1 closing price -- which was the last trading day prior to the billionaire revealing that he became Twitter's biggest shareholder -- and an 18% premium over its closing price on April 13.
I made an offer https://t.co/VvreuPMeLu
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2022
The filing confirmed Musk sent an offer letter to Twitter.
"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 in the offer letter. "However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company."
CNN notes that the offer letter specifically addressed Bret Taylor, the chair of the Twitter board, and not Parag Agrawal, who assumed the role of CEO last fall.
"Twitter has extraordinary potential," Musk added. "I will unlock it."
Twitter confirmed it received the offer and said its board planned to review the proposal "to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the company and all Twitter stockholders" in a statement obtained by CNN.
Earlier this week, a Twitter shareholder filed a lawsuit against Musk over his purchase of the company's stock, accusing the billionaire of failing to publicly disclose his purchases when it reached 5%, CNBC reported.
Investors must disclose their purchase within 10 days of exceeding the 5% threshold in adherence with federal law.
Musk was initially offered a seat on Twitter's Board of Directors, but ultimately turned down the offer earlier this month.
Musk vowed to "make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months" amid the announcement that he'd join the social media's company board of directors after purchasing 9% of Twitter's stock and becoming its largest shareholder earlier this month.
Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2022
Musk had stated that he'd given "serious thought" to purchasing stock in Twitter, which he posts on regularly, but claimed was "failing to adhere to free speech principles" which he claimed "fundamentally undermines democracy."
The billionaire's decision came amid criticism from conservatives following Twitter's enforcement of its rules and a ban on former President Donald Trump based on his social media posts playing a role in the lead-up to the the January 6, 2021 insurrection.