Twitter is on the verge of accepting Elon Musk’s $43 billion bid to take the social network private.
According to Reuters, Twitter may announce that it has accepted Musk’s offer later on Monday after its board meets to recommend the transaction to Twitter shareholders. The talks are fluid, and the agreement could still fall apart, according to the sources.
Reuters’ report on Monday sent Twitter shares up more than 5% in premarket trading on Monday. According to the report, Twitter was unable to secure a so-called “go-shop” provision from Musk, which would have allowed it to solicit additional bids from potential buyers after the deal was signed.
Nonetheless, Twitter would be permitted to accept an offer from a third party by paying Musk a break-up fee, according to the sources.
According to Reuters, Musk met with several shareholders over the weekend and outlined the specifics of his $54.20 per share bid for the social media platform. According to the report, Musk’s outreach compelled the company’s board of directors to seriously consider the Tesla CEO’s $43 billion takeover bid.
According to Reuters, many Twitter shareholders contacted the company over the weekend after Musk outlined a detailed financing plan for his bid on Thursday and urged it not to let the opportunity for a deal pass them by.
Twitter’s board is concerned that if they defy their investors in the event Musk makes an attractive tender offer, their negotiating position will deteriorate. According to the sources, Musk’s insistence that his bid for Twitter is his “best and final” has proven to be a stumbling block in the deal negotiations.
According to Reuters, Twitter’s board is in talks with Musk to get more details on his bid and to see if there is wiggle room to negotiate more favorable terms for the company. Twitter has not yet decided whether to pursue a sale in order to put pressure on Musk to raise his bid.
Musk has made an excellent offer to buy Twitter and take it private in order to restore the company’s mission of providing a platform for “free speech.” Initially, Twitter’s board resisted the offer, mounting a “poison pill” defense to deter Musk from launching an aggressive takeover bid. Musk has threatened to make a tender offer in order to gain shareholder support for his bid — a key factor that prompted the board of directors to seriously consider his offer.
Earlier on Sunday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Musk and Twitter would meet to discuss the acquisition offer.
The board of directors of the company is reportedly seeking information about ongoing regulatory investigations into Musk, including those conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors have accused Musk of costing them billions of dollars when he tweeted that he had secured funds to take Tesla private at $420 per share. The tweet sparked a class action lawsuit against Musk, as well as an ongoing legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The trial is scheduled to start in January 2023. The SEC is also looking into whether Musk broke the law by failing to disclose that he had purchased Twitter shares while amassing his 9.2 percent stake earlier this month. Twitter is also investigating whether regulators in any of the major markets in which it operates would object to Musk owning the company.