Musk has $46.5 bn war chest to fund tender offer for Twitter

New York, Apr 21 (EFE).- Elon Musk said Thursday in a regulatory filing that he has lined up $46.5 billion to finance a possible tender offer for Twitter if he is unable to “negotiate a definitive agreement for the acquisition” of the platform.

The Twitter board has yet to respond to his April 14 offer to buy 100 percent of the company for $54.20 per share, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO said in the filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“Given the lack of response by Twitter, the Reporting Person is exploring whether to commence a tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Common Stock,” Musk informed the SEC.

He said that he had secured two debt commitment letters totaling $25.5 billion from a group of lenders led by Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., and pledged to provide $21 billion in equity finances from his own resources.

Musk, reputed to be the world’s richest person, disclosed early this month that he had accumulated 9.2 percent of Twitter in a series of purchases going back to January, giving him a larger stake in the firm than any other individual investor.

Twitter responded to the disclosure by offering him a seat on the board, which he initially accepted, only to reverse course on April 9.

Five days later, he signaled his desire to buy the company in a text to Twitter board chair Bret Taylor.

“I have decided I want to acquire the company and take it private. I am offering to buy 100 percent of Twitter for $54.20 per share in cash, a 54 percent premium over the day before I began investing in Twitter,” the South African-born mogul 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 Twitter board of directors announced on April 15 the adoption of a “poison pill” aimed at thwarting Musk’s $43 billion bid for control of the social media company.

The central element of what the board calls a Rights Plan is a mechanism intended to make it difficult for any individual or group to acquire 15 percent or more of the shares without board approval.

Musk, who was sued by the SEC in 2018 over his posting of “fraudulent” Twitter messages to boost Tesla’s share price, said in Thursday’s filing that he might use social media to express his views on Twitter’s “business, products and service offerings.” EFE nqs/dr