Elon Musk Secures $46.5 Billion to Finance Twitter Bid

The billionaire has been looking to complete a takeover of the social network since he acquired a 9.2% stake.

Bypassing the Board

Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed on Thursday that he has lined up $46.5 billion to finance a Twitter takeover deal as he applied pressure on its board to negotiate a sale. 

The disclosure comes a week after Musk announced plans to buy the platform for about $43 billion, or $54.20 per share.

Documents filed with United States securities regulators show that he is exploring a tender offer option. This means that Musk would make direct offers to Twitter shareholders instead of having to go through its board of directors.

Last week, the board voted to adopt a “poison pill” plan to resist the billionaire’s takeover bid. The strategy will allow shareholders to purchase discounted shares if a group or an entity acquires 15% of Twitter’s common stock. 

The SpaceX owner became Twitter’s largest shareholder when he acquired 9.2% of its stock. After initially agreeing, he made an about-turn and refused to join the board.

Of the $46.5 billion funds, Musk himself will provide $33.5 billion, consisting of $21 billion of equity and $12.5 billion of margin loans against some of his Tesla stock. The rest of the financing will come from Morgan Stanley and other banks.

A Twitter spokesperson confirmed that the company had received Musk’s updated proposal.

“The board is committed to conducting a careful, comprehensive, and deliberate review to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the company and all Twitter stockholders,” he said.