Musk Offers to Buy Twitter in Hostile Takeover Attempt
Elon Musk offered to buy Twitter Thursday and take it private, saying he wants to transform the platform and defend free speech. The Tesla CEO and Twitter shareholder announced his bid through an SEC filing, in which he offered to buy 100% of Twitter at $54.20 per share, estimating the value of the company at $43.4 billion.
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Twitter confirmed in a statement it received an “unsolicited, non-binding proposal” from Musk to acquire all outstanding common stock. The board of directors “will carefully review the proposal to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the Company and all Twitter stockholders.” Former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai drew attention to the news Thursday.
Musk spoke about the offer Thursday during a TED conference appearance. He said it’s important for Twitter to be an “inclusive arena for free speech.” He suggested the company open its algorithms so there’s no “behind-the-scenes manipulation.” He noted he’s not sure if he will “be able to acquire it.” Musk said he’s not concerned about the economics of the deal, but having a public platform is “extremely important to the future of civilization.”
The offer is a 54% premium over the day before Musk began investing in Twitter and a 38% premium over the day before his investment was publicly announced, he said: “My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder.”
The offer follows Musk’s reversal in joining the company’s board earlier this month. Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal said in a memo to the company the reversal was “for the best.” He noted Sunday that Twitter will remain open to input from Musk, the company’s biggest shareholder. He asked the company to “tune out the noise” and stay focused on the work: “There will be distractions ahead, but our goals and priorities remain unchanged. The decisions we make and how we execute is in our hands, no one else’s.”
Musk said in his SEC filing he believes in the potential of Twitter as a platform for free speech around the world. Since the initial investment, he said he realizes the company “will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company.” Twitter has “extraordinary potential. I will unlock it,” he wrote. Rather than play a ”back-and-forth” game, Musk said he “moved straight to the end” with a high price shareholders will “love.” If the deal isn’t accepted, he said he would need to consider his position as shareholder, “given that I don’t have confidence in management nor do I believe I can drive the necessary change in the public market.” Musk said the offer isn’t a “threat.” It’s “simply not a good investment without the changes that need to be made.”
Musk is making clear Twitter “needs a wholesale tear-down to the foundation, its leadership must be removed, and the politically discriminating ideologues running day to day operations must be replaced,” Gettr CEO Jason Miller said Thursday.
Gab CEO Andrew Torba offered Musk a board seat on his conservative platform and equity in the company if Musk sold his Twitter shares and invested $2 billion into Gab. Torba noted Gab has its own servers, saying the next “big leap of censorship” will be at the ISP level. Twitter “has legacy problems that Gab doesn’t,” he wrote.