April 19, 2022 2:12 pm
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Elon Musk Reportedly ‘Scrambling’ To Find Backers For Twitter Takeover

Elon Musk is ‘scrambling’ to find backers to finance his $43 billion bid to acquire Twitter, according to the New York Post, citing anonymous sources.

The complex deal would raise debt both against the company, and possibly his own stock – and would include a large cash equity infusion from co-investors.

Still, insiders say Musk appears to be facing hurdles in raising the money. In addition to doubts about whether Twitter is worth the $54.20 a share that Musk offered on Thursday, sources said some investors appear skittish over his pattern of unpredictable behavior and taste for controversy.

Musk himself is willing to invest between $10 billion and $15 billion of his own cash to take Twitter private, two sources close to the situation said. That’s up from the current 9.1% stake in the company he revealed on April 4, which is worth about $3.4 billion. -NY Post

“The co-investors will combined have more equity than Musk but he will be the biggest single holder,” said one of the sources.

Musk has tapped Morgan Stanley to raise another $10 billion in debt for the traditional leveraged buyout. Around $20 billion, the bulk of the funding, will come from co-investors to finance a hostile tender offer which sources say Musk will plan to launch in 10 days or so if he’s able to actually secure the funding.

According to the report, Musk is canvassing investors who have previously put money into Tesla, SpaceX and prior ventures. Another ‘source,’ however, say that most private equity firms prefer to steer clear from political controversy, and fear that Musk will be uncontrollable.

“Private equity firms don’t get paid for headline risk,” the source told The Post.

In addition to suggesting that the company turn empty space in its San Francisco headquarters into a homeless shelter (ala Amazon), the richest man in the world told Twitter’s board that the network ““has potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe,” which many on the left have expressed concerns over – including the potential for Twitter to restore former President Donald Trump’s account, which was banned following the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot.

In the meantime, TWTR shares are trading in fits and starts around the cash opening price following Musk’s initial 13D filing of his acquisition…

Another potential hurdle – whether Twitter is worth $43 billion in the first place.

“A lot of private equity firms are doing the work and struggling on the valuation,” said a source. “This is not growing like Instagram or TikTok.”

““Twitter does not have a whole lot of cash flow.”

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