Twitter Inc is about to agree to a sale to Elon Musk for about $43 billion in cash, the price Tesla Inc CEO has called his “best and final” offer for the social media company, people familiar with it said. the case.
Twitter could announce the $54.20 per share deal later Monday, once the board meets to recommend the transaction to Twitter shareholders, the sources said. It’s always possible the deal could collapse at the last minute, the sources added.
Musk, the world’s richest person by a count by Forbes, is negotiating to buy Twitter in a personal capacity and Tesla is not involved in the deal.
Twitter has so far failed to get a “go-shop” provision under its agreement with Mr. Musk that would allow him to request other bids once the deal is signed, the sources said. Still, Twitter would be allowed to accept an offer from another party by paying Mr. Musk a termination fee, the sources added.
The sources have asked for anonymity because the case is confidential. Twitter and Mr. Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Twitter shares rose 4.5% in New York pre-market trading Monday at $51.15.
Mr. Musk has said Twitter needs to be taken private to grow and become a true platform for free speech.
The deal was set to take place just four days after Mr. Musk unveiled a financing package to support the acquisition. This prompted Twitter’s board to take the deal more seriously and many shareholders asked the company not to let the chance of a deal slip by. Reuters reported on Sunday.
The sale is said to be an acknowledgment from Twitter that new CEO Parag Agrawal, who took over in November, does not have enough traction to make the company more profitable, despite it being on track to meet the ambitious financial goals the company has set for itself. 2023 has stated. Shares of Twitter traded even higher than Mr Musk’s offer price in November.
Mr. Musk’s negotiating tactic – making one offer and sticking to it – is similar to how another billionaire, Warren Buffett, negotiates acquisitions. Mr. Musk did not provide funding details when he first announced his offer to Twitter, leaving the market skeptical of the prospects.
SOURCE – www.thehindu.com