Twitter ‘under pressure’ to strike a deal with Elon Musk – as both sides meet to discuss takeover plans | Business Newsletter
Twitter is facing increasing pressure from shareholders to find a deal with Elon Musk.
The richest man in the world recommended to buy social network for $43bn (£33.5bn) – and has accused the company of failing to uphold freedom of expression.
Twitter recently adopted a “poison” strategy in an effort to fend off a hostile takeover, but some investors want the tech giant to seriously consider its offer.
Elon Musk is the richest man in the world
According to Reuters, some shareholders want Twitter to find a better deal from Musk – urging the company not to let this opportunity slip.
Musk has previously described his $54.20/share offer as “best and last” — but with the social network releasing quarterly results on Thursday, the company’s board Twitter may think this price is too low.
In addition to encouraging the Tesla CEO to sweeten his offer, other options for the company include soliciting bids from rivals.
One fund manager who invested in Twitter told Reuters: “I wouldn’t be surprised to wake up next week to see Musk raising what he calls his best and last offer to maybe 64. .20 USD/share.”
Musk argues that the social network needs to be made private in order to grow and become a real platform for free speech.
The billionaire also wants to tackle other problems the social network is facing, such as the proliferation of bots that distribute spam messages.
And he considered adding new features including an edit button, as well as reducing Twitter’s reliance on ads and allowing longer tweets to be posted.
Some hedge funds believe Musk’s offer is a good deal, but other investors warn Twitter is worth much more
Shares of Twitter were trading at $48.93 at Friday’s close on Wall Street, meaning Musk’s offer was 10% higher than current prices.
Some hedge funds believe it’s a good deal — and argue inflation and recession concerns mean Twitter’s stock is unlikely to be worth more than $54.20 at any time. .
But longtime shareholders argue that Twitter is worth much more — and just six months ago the stock was trading at $62.11.
Elsewhere, the Wall Street Journal has reported that Twitter is reconsidering Musk’s offer – especially since the billionaire now has the financing for a deal.
According to media reports, both sides met on Sunday to discuss the proposal – and the social network is “more likely than before to find a way to negotiate”.
Musk also met privately with some Twitter shareholders to highlight the potential benefits of his company takeover.
