Musk said he has commitments to fund the deal, including two commitments from Morgan Stanley and other unnamed financial institutions and one commitment from himself, according to a statement filed Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Musk said in the filing that he has yet to receive a formal response from Twitter’s board of directors regarding his offer to purchase all of his shares he doesn’t currently own for $54.20 a share, a deal the company said would be valued at around 41 billion US dollars. He said he “seeks to negotiate a definitive acquisition agreement” and “stands ready to begin such negotiations immediately” — an apparent reversal of what he said in his tender offer letter that this would be his “best and final” offer. Questions as to whether Musk would actually be able to fund his acquisition of Twitter swirled in the days following his bid, particularly after he said in an interview on the day of his bid, “I’m not sure I actually would.” create will acquire [Twitter].”
Despite being the richest person in the world, much of Musk’s wealth is tied up in Tesla stock, and some supporters of the company have speculated that incurring debt to the historically volatile stock could be a challenge for Musk.
Though Twitter’s board of directors hasn’t officially responded to Musk’s offer, on Friday it rolled out what it calls a poison pill, a defensive measure that could make it harder for him (or any other investor) to buy or take a controlling stake in the company without his approval.
Musk said in his filing filed on Thursday that he is “assessing” whether to make a takeover bid — a move to bulk buy Twitter stock directly from shareholders that could put additional pressure on the board — but has ” not yet decided whether to do so at this time.” Musk has previously alluded to the possibility of a takeover bid in several recent tongue-in-cheek tweets, including one with a fill in the blank followed by “is the night.”
Morgan Stanley did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In a statement, Brenden Lee, a spokesman for Twitter, said the company had received Musk’s “updated non-binding offer” and “new information about potential funding.”
“As previously announced and communicated directly to Mr. Musk, the Board of Directors is committed to conducting a careful, comprehensive and deliberate review to determine what course of action it believes is in the best interests of the company and all Twitter shareholders,” Lee said.
Twitter (TWTR) stock rose about 1% to just over $47 on Thursday morning after the filing, before giving up those gains. It remains well below Musk’s bid of $54.20 per share, which could indicate some investor skepticism about the likelihood of the deal going through. Musk was previously in hot water after claiming on Twitter in 2018 that he had secured funding to take Tesla (TSLA) private for $420 per share, although the agency said that actually wasn’t the case . Musk eventually agreed to a $20 million settlement with the SEC that would see him step down as Tesla CEO and have attorneys pre-approve certain tweets about the company. (Musk recently doubled down by saying he secured the funding, leading to a court filing by a group of Tesla shareholders suing the Tesla CEO who wants a judge to muzzle him.) There’s also Signs that other potential bidders for Twitter may be circling in circles. Reuters reported last week that buyout firm Thoma Bravo had reached out to Twitter about potentially making its own takeover bid for Musk’s competitor. (Thoma Bravo previously declined to comment on the report.) Wealth management and lending firm Apollo Global Management has also been contacted by several parties considering offers for Twitter to potentially help fund a deal, like one with A source familiar to the company confirmed to CNN Business Monday, although it’s not clear if they are parties to a Musk-related bid or other bidders.