Musk Secures Required Financing

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https://www.theepochtimes.com/musk-secures-46-5-billion-funding-to-buy-twitter-says-ready-for-tender-offer_4418646.html?utm_source=News&utm_campaign=breaking-2022-04-21-2&utm_medium=email&est=n4bmRwYjxbEAOEwUFHyI7kMJYLZm01FxiA0RYlrHJ02wLE53LgTcP3gtXTtKS8b8

Billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk has secured the required financing to buy Twitter and take the company private, according to a new regulatory filing. Musk is also exploring a tender offer to buy shares from stockholders directly.

The document shows that Musk has received $46.5 billion in commitment to help finance the proposed deal. If he decides to go ahead with a tender offer, he will approach Twitter shareholders and offer to buy their shares within a specific time frame. He is, however, still considering whether to launch a tender offer for Twitter, according to the filing.

Musk, the richest man in the world, has secured $25.5 billion in debt financing from Morgan Stanley and other financial institutions, including Bank of America, Barclays, and Mizuho. He has also committed to provide $21 billion in equity financing, according to the document.

Musk is seeking to negotiate a “definitive agreement” with the board for the acquisition of Twitter.

“Twitter has not responded to the proposal,” Musk says according to the filing. “Given the lack of response by Twitter,” he is “exploring whether to commence a tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares” at a price of $54.20 per share.

The purchase will include the rights associated with the Rights Agreement (the poison pill), the filing stated.

The billionaire, however, “has not determined whether to do so at this time.”

Musk made a bid on April 14 to take the social media company private for $54.20 per share, which valued the company at around $43 billion. The firm’s board of directors the next day unanimously adopted a “poison pill” defense to prevent a hostile takeover.

The poison pill, also known as a shareholder rights plan, is used as a defense strategy to make Musk’s takeover more expensive and difficult.

If Musk reaches 15 percent ownership, the poison pill will be triggered. This will allow other stockholders to purchase additional shares at a discounted price, thus diluting Musk’s ownership stake.

On April 4, Musk announced that he had purchased 73.5 million Twitter shares, or 9.2 percent of the firm. Musk later reduced his holdings to 73.1 million shares, or 9.1 percent of the company, according to an SEC filing. Twitter’s other large shareholders include The Vanguard Group (10.3 percent), Morgan Stanley (8.4 percent), and BlackRock (6.5 percent).

The ownership contest for Twitter has devolved into a chess game after the company’s board last week adopted a poison pill to thwart Musk’s unwelcome takeover attempt.

Many people around the world, including the company’s stockholders, have been eagerly watching to see what the billionaire and the board of directors will do next.

This week, numerous media outlets reported that Apollo Global Management is considering financing Musk or another bidder for a Twitter buyout.

“What we’re witnessing is a bit of a chess game in public,” says Dale Saran, an attorney, who helped fitness company CrossFit avoid corporate takeover as company’s general counsel in 2012.

Before submitting his bid on April 14, Musk sent a voicemail to the board, according to the SEC filing, stating that he’s “not playing the back-and-forth game.”

“It’s a high price and your shareholders will love it,” Musk said, adding that if the deal falls through, he will reconsider his position as a shareholder.

The latest funding information, however, could make it harder for the board to claim that he is not a serious bidder.

It’s still uncertain whether Musk will be able to secure enough shareholder support to persuade the board to remove its poison pill and opposition to the offer.

The use of a poison pill doesn’t always mean the company is unwilling to be bought. Twitter’s board may be using it as a tactic to boost the offer price.

In a statement on April 15, Twitter said that the board will accept an offer if “it is in the best interests of Twitter and its shareholders.”

Twitter’s board has come under pressure since some analysts say the stock’s upside potential is currently limited. Goldman Sachs, for example, has a “sell” rating on the stock with a price target of $30 per share. Ironically, the investment bank is advising Twitter’s board on Musk’s takeover bid.

The company’s stock is currently trading at $46. Shares were up nearly 20 percent since April 4 when Twitter confirmed that Musk had acquired a significant stake in the company.

Steve Forbes, chairman and CEO of Forbes Media, says if Musk withdraws his bid, Twitter’s stock “would collapse.”