By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 19th, 2024
According to a source, Elon Musk has no plans to lead Twitter for the long term after closing the $44 billion deal.
It has been recently reported that Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, acquired Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR) for $44 billion. This did not come as a surprise to many as he has been a constant critic of the social media giant. The Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO had in the past questioned the company’s decisions on free speech, so it is expected that his takeover comes along with many changes in the way it operates. According to a source close to the matter, Elon Musk has no plans to lead Twitter for the long term after closing the $44 billion deal.
Recently, Elon Musk unveiled a list of high-profile investors who will back his Twitter bid with $7.14 billion. The investors include Oracle’s co-founder Larry Ellison and Sequoia Capital. In addition, he has reportedly increased financing commitment to $27 billion with commitment from about 19 investors. The Tesla CEO has as well secured a loan commitment of $13 billion. Other known investors include “crypto firm Binance, New York-based real estate tycoon Steven Witkoff’s firm”.
“We hope to be able to play a role in bringing social media and web3 together and broadening the use and adoption of crypto and blockchain technology,” said Changpeng Zhao, Binance CEO.
In order to commit less of his wealth to the acquisition, it is reported that Musk is holding a series of discussions with high-profile investment companies and high-net-worth individuals on getting involved in the financial aspect of the deal. Also, as captured in the regulatory filing, Musk will continue to engage the former chief of Twitter Jack Dorsey, and other existing shareholders to contribute shares to the acquisition. Larry Ellison, a friend of Elon Musk and a board member of Tesla has also committed $1 billion for the funding.
Saudi Arabian investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal disclosed last month that the deal price is not enough for him to sell his shares, and then pledged to contribute a $1.89 billion stake to the deal.
Great to connect with you my “new” friend @elonmusk … Kingdom Holding Company and I look forward to rolling our ~$1.9 bn in the “new” Twitter,” he tweeted.
The SpaceX founder is in the advanced stage of the takeover as he may have to pay a $1 billion termination fee if he decides not to complete the deal. Twitter can as well due him.
The Twitter acquisition has seen a fall in the Tesla shares as investors suspect that Musk may be distracted from running the electric car company. On Thursday, the Tesla shares dropped by 8% while the Twitter shares increased by 4%.