Twitter’s CEO said Thursday that no decision had been made on Elon Musk’s $43 billion bid to buy the company, fueling speculation about a possible battle for control of the social media giant as the billionaire Mark Cuban said he thinks Musk is just “Fuck the SEC.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal told employees Thursday afternoon that the board has not yet made a decision on Musk’s offer
Parag Agrawal, the 37-year-old CEO of Twitter, spoke to employees Thursday after a board meeting that discussed Musk’s proposal.
The board would follow a “rigorous process” and make a decision “in the best interest of our shareholders,” Agrawal said, according to The Verge.
Songs like “I Say A Little Prayer” and “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys were played to staff members before Agrawal’s speech, the website reported.
Agrawal then held a 25-minute question and answer session.
He didn’t say when the board would have an answer for Musk or what direction the board was headed — answers that The Verge said frustrated some employees.
The board will follow a “rigorous process” and make a decision “in the best interests of our shareholders,” he said.
Amid the board’s internal discussions, billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban claimed Musk was “fucked” with the SEC and engaged in an elaborate plan to skyrocket the value of his Twitter stock before selling it for a huge profit .
Elon Musk is pictured Thursday, hours after he made his bid for control of Twitter. The 50-year-old spoke onstage with TED curator Chris Anderson in Vancouver. Mark Cuban (right) said he believes Musk is playing with the SEC
“My strong intuitive sense is that having a public platform that is maximally trustworthy and inclusive is important to the future of civilization,” Musk said
The 63-year-old Cuban has been closely following Musk’s moves regarding the social media company, which Musk planned to privatize for $43 billion on Wednesday.
Musk’s interest in Twitter was quick and furious.
On March 14, he bought 73,486,938 Twitter shares, or 9.2 percent, of Twitter for approximately $3 billion. The news was revealed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 4, and Musk became the largest shareholder.
Musk began speculating about changes to the site — renaming it “Titter,” adding edit buttons — and mulling converting the company’s headquarters into a homeless shelter. He even wondered if Twitter had a future.
Cuban said Thursday he watched with amusement and concluded it was all part of an elaborate plan by Musk to toy with the SEC.
“My conclusion @elonmusk is screwed with the SEC,” the Cuban tweeted.
He said that Musk’s filing with the SEC of filings formally outlining his intentions gave him legal protection to carry out his plan.
Musk was fined $40 million in September 2018 – half by him, the other half by his company Tesla – for tweeting about taking Tesla private and upsetting the stock market.
Cuban said he sewed up the legal side this time.
“His filing with the SEC allows him to say he wants to take a $54.20 company private while considering taking Tesla private for $420. Funding secured,’ said Cuban.
“The price increases. His shares are sold. Benefit.
‘SEC like WTF just happened.’
Musk himself on Thursday denied he wanted to buy Twitter for financial reasons, insisting he was motivated by protecting free speech.
“This isn’t about economics,” Musk said at a TED conference in Vancouver.
“My strong intuitive sense is that it is important for the future of civilization to have a public platform that is maximally trusted and inclusive.
“Twitter has become a de facto marketplace of sorts, so it’s really important that people have both the reality and the perception that they can speak freely within the law.”
Elon Musk appeared at the TED2022 conference on Thursday and said that he is seeking a hostile takeover of Twitter not for financial reasons but for the “future of civilisation” and said he has a “plan B” if his original one $43 billion bid fails
Apparently targeting the company’s policies on remote working, Musk said he came up with the plan “since nobody’s showing up anyway.”
The second tweet about deleting the “w” saw Musk give two options with no “no” for an answer
Cuban – who has previously spoken of his admiration for the 50-year-old outsider – was unconvinced, thinking it was all part of a fun, lucrative game for Musk.
He added: “Elon may have started it, but its threat to sell its stake if Twitter says no opened the door for these tech giants to get in for relatively ‘little’ money and make big impact on Twitter, or possibly a direct path to it obtain for acquisition.
‘Elon will be smiling all the way to the bank.’
Cuban said he believes Twitter’s board of directors would do everything in their power to prevent Musk from acquiring the company.
“I think Twitter will do everything it can to not sell the company,” he said.
“They’re going to try and get a friend to come in, buy Elon’s stock and get him out.”
He added: “You wanna see the whole world lose their shit? Get Peter Thiel to partner with Elon and increase supply for Twitter.’
Dallas Mavericks owner Cuban is worth an estimated $4.7 billion
On Thursday afternoon, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal told employees the board has not yet made a decision on Musk’s offer and gave no deadlines.
Musk starts bid via SMS to Twitter presidency
Musk launched his takeover bid in a text message to Twitter CEO Bret Taylor on Wednesday, according to a regulatory filing.
The text message read:
As I hinted at this weekend, I believe the company should be private to make the necessary changes.
After thinking about it for the past few days, I have decided to acquire the company and make it private.
I will send you an offer letter tonight, it will be posted tomorrow morning.
Are you available for a chat?
Cuban, who is worth an estimated $4.7 billion, has spoken warmly of Musk, whose $219 billion fortune dwarfs even Jeff Bezos’ $171 billion.
“I like Elon Musk,” Cuban told the New York Post in June 2020.
“He can be conceited at times, but he’s the only entrepreneur in my life who really takes on projects that most people would be afraid to even try and [he] make them work.’
“The guy is a machine that gets things done and seems to have fun on the side. I admire that.”
He previously compared Musk to Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos, and after a weird 2018 Tesla earnings call in which Musk called analysts’ questions “boring” and “stupid,” Cuban defended him.
“It’s okay for [a CEO] having an attitude,” Cuban told CNBC in May 2018.
“You don’t always have to be vanilla – that’s just life.”
Cuban added that he respects Musk as a founder who “puts his heart into it.”
The Texas businessman ran into trouble with Musk in April 2020, when Musk called COVID lockdowns “fascist.”
Musk was upset about the restrictions placed on his workers at the Tesla factory.
“Anything negative for Tesla hates Elon, period, end of story,” he said.
“You know, I don’t think he cares about the interests of others.”