Tech mogul Elon Musk is expected by some to buy social media platform Twitter as soon as Monday.
The billionaire and CEO of electric car company Tesla Inc. was in discussions with Twitter’s board about the takeover into early Monday, sources with knowledge of the matter said. Musk is apparently lining up partners and potential co-investors for what could be one of the biggest ever takeovers of a publicly listed company.
Twitter shares rose 3.9 per cent when trading began Monday morning, as talk of the deal continued to swirl. The billionaire first announced his $43 billion (US) offer April 14, at $54.20 a share.
Musk said last week he had lined up $46.5 billion in financing to buy the social media company. Twitter had put in place an anti-takeover measure, but decided to negotiate once it was clear Musk, currently the world’s richest person, had secured financing, the Wall Street Journal reported. According to documents filed with US securities regulators, the financing will come from Morgan Stanley and other banks.
There are concerns about Musk’s motives for taking over Twitter. Musk has said he wants to buy the platform because he doesn’t believe it’s living up to its role in enabling free speech, and has proposed relaxing content restrictions, potentially including the rules that forced former president Donald Trump off the social media platform.
Twitter doesn’t have as many users as Facebook or TikTok but is popular in certain industries, such as with world leaders, celebrities, journalists and intellectuals.
Musk was born in South Africa but moved to Canada at age 17 and attended Queen’s University in Kingston for a while before moving to the US He’s a controversial figure on Twitter, with multiple controversial tweets under his belt — including a tweet about taking Tesla private that triggered a federal lawsuit.
Doge-coin, a cryptocurrency meme touted by Musk, jumped in value amid news of the potential deal.
With files from Bloomberg and Associated Press
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