The Most Important People in the Musk-Twitter Deal Say It's Happening - Stock Pops Before Markets Even Open Monday
The buzz on Wall Street Monday sent Twitter stock rising as the social media giant’s shareholders pieced together scattered reports that collectively indicate Elon Musk’s deal to buy Twitter could be announced on Monday.
Twitter’s stock rose about 5 percent before the market opened, according to CNBC, indicating the most important people in the market — those who buy and sell stocks, are expecting the deal to go through.
Earlier this month, Musk offered to buy Twitter for $54.20 a share in a deal that would cost him $43 billion.
Twitter’s board has balked, leading to a roller-coaster of speculation over whether Musk would be rebuffed in his bid.
On Sunday, Twitter’s board met to consider the offer, CNBC reported.
According to The New York Times, that meeting extended into the early hours of Monday.
As the Times portrayed the talks, the elements to be resolved included a timeline for the deal and who would pay what in fees if the proposal should fall apart.
According to the Times, Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, called the developments “the beginning of the end for Twitter as a public company with Musk likely now on a path to acquire the company unless a second bidder comes into the mix.”
Reuters reported Monday that Twitter has not been able to find a way to solicit other bidders after it signs its agreement with Musk, but said that, based on sources it did not name, it could accept other bids if Musk was paid a hefty fee.
Twitter shareholder Lauri Brunner, who manages Thrivent Asset Management LLC’s large-cap growth fund, is supporting Musk, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“He has an established track record at Tesla,” she said. “He is the catalyst to deliver strong operating performance at Twitter.”
Jeff Gramm, a portfolio manager with Bandera Partners LLC, a hedge fund with about 950,000 Twitter shares, told the Journal Twitter must prove it can do better if it does not accept the deal.
“I’m not sure what that can be at this stage besides finding a higher bid,” he said.
In his Securities and Exchange Commission filing when he filed to buy Twitter, Musk attached a communication to Twitter Board Chairman Bret Taylor.
“I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy,” he wrote
“However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company,” he wrote.
“As a result, I am offering to buy 100% of Twitter for $54.20 per share in cash, a 54% premium over the day before I began investing in Twitter and a 38% premium over the day before my investment was publicly announced. My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder. Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it,” Musk declared.
“This is not a threat, it’s simply not a good investment without the changes that need to be made. And those changes won’t happen without taking the company private,” Musk wrote then.
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