Musk to Team Up with Investors to Counter 'Poison Pill,' May Have an Inside Man on Twitter's Board: Report
Michael Austin April 18, 2022 at 5:24am
Elon Musk may be initiating a countermove to Twitter’s “poison pill” effort.
After the self-made billionaire and world’s richest man announced his intention to purchase 100 percent of the social media giant’s shares, Twitter issued a news release stating that the company’s board of directors had unanimously adopted a limited duration shareholders rights plan.
Essentially, the rule — known as a “poison pill” in finance jargon — allows Twitter’s shareholders to buy up cheap shares of the company, diluting the commanding stake that Musk holds. It goes into effect when a buyer obtains 15 percent or more of the company without board approval.
However, according to the New York Post, Musk is attempting to bring in other investors to help bolster his bid to take the company.
“Sources close to the matter” said that a partnership could be announced “within days,” the Post reported Friday.
Among the list of potential partners to team up with Musk is private-equity firm Silver Lake Partners. The two parties already have a working history.
According to the Post’s sources, the firm had previously planned to invest with Musk in 2018 when he attempted to take Tesla private.
The co-CEO of Silver Lake, Egon Durban, is a Twitter board member who personally “led Musk’s deal team” in 2018, the sources said. Silver Lake declined the Post’s request for comment, as did a representative for Musk himself, the Post reported.
Do you Elon Musk will succeed in acquiring Twitter? Yes: 95% (939 Votes) No: 5% (54 Votes)
Such a partnership would circumvent Twitter’s attempts to block Musk’s acquisition of the company, according to The Post.
“For its part, Twitter on Friday adopted a so-called poison pill — a corporate move that prevents Musk from acquiring more than 15% of the company,” the Post reported. “But that pill may not stop other entities or people from acquiring their own shares of up to 15% of the company.
Those owners could partner with Musk to force a sale, make changes in the executive ranks or push for other overhauls of the company.”
In an interview Thursday as part of the TED2022 conference, Musk said his determination to buy Twitter involved more than making money, as The Hill reported.
“My strong, intuitive sense is that having a public platform that is maximally trusted and broadly inclusive is extremely important to the future of civilization,” Musk said. “I don’t care about the economics at all.”
Elon Musk Today During Ted2022 : “My strong intuitive sense is that having a public platform that is maximally trusted & broadly inclusive is extremely important to the future of civilization.” “I don’t care about the economics at all.” ~ SGTnewsNetwork pic.twitter.com/Qc58zGiyTA — IAm_Ash_Ash (@IAmAshAsh1) April 18, 2022
Before Musk announced his intention to buy 100 percent of the company on April 14, an analyst interviewed by The Western Journal outlined possible moves Musk is considering.
Aron Solomon, the chief legal analyst for Esquire Digital, walked The Western Journal through what Musk’s Twitter “endgame” would look like. According to Solomon, Musk has no intention of playing the long game. Instead, the billionaire plans to acquire Twitter as soon as possible, Solomon said.
“We’re going to forget about Elon Musk and Twitter three, four or five days from now if he allows it to go out of the news spotlight. So, I think that he’s got to make some really interesting, quick moves if he has an ultimate endgame here,” Solomon told The Western Journal.
“And if that endgame is to acquire more than 50 percent of Twitter, I think it makes more sense to get those things in motion now.” Solomon said Musk has a demonstrated ability to run multiple operations.0
“Like Elon Musk or not, one thing that we know is that he’s able to take things from zero to 60 very quickly, whether it’s SpaceX or Tesla or anything that he wants to do.”
