Elon Musk has decided to pursue a takeover of Twitter. With this buyout, Elon intends to take the company private. This somewhat unsurprising announcement comes on the heels of Musk informing Twitter’s board that he will not be joining them.
I made an offer https://t.co/VvreuPMeLu
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2022
The billionaire has not been shy about his reasoning in this pursuit to own the media behemoth. In his filing with the SEC, his statements reflected a fervent desire to foster free speech.
“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.”
Elon goes on to state in the SEC filing that the “offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder.” Although Elon does not elaborate on what “reconsider” means, it puts Twitter shareholders in quite the quandary. If shareholders do not accept the buyout, one only needs to look at a historical timeline of corporate raiders to see what they are capable of. T. Boone Pickens, Carl Icahn, and Paul Singer among others have left quite the imprint on those who have gotten in the crosshairs.
Twitter is currently hovering around $46 dollars as of noon central time. The founder of Tesla and SpaceX is offering $54.20 a share for the buyout. This is a significant premium that shareholders will be forced to consider. In all, the total buyout represents roughly 15% of his net worth. $43 billion dollars is quite the price tag, but the world’s richest man does not appear fazed by the considerable sum.
To end his statement to the SEC, Musk stated “Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it.” By setting the expectation of free speech for all, he certainly intends to revitalize the core values that the tech giant ostensibly holds. Musk has never been shy with his thoughts on outside companies, but this will be his first swing at changing a company from the outside. The forces he faces are not small in nature. Considering other media platforms will take notice, Musk could be in for quite the war. All of those elements seem negligible in his quest for breaking the monolithic grip of big tech. His considerable influence and resources might end up dictating that change.
