Elon Musk looks to raise funds to buy Twitter, reports say

Tesla CEO and the richest man in the United States, Elon Musk, is increasing his bid to acquire Twitter.

Musk, whose proposal buy the platform for $ 43 billion was rejected by the Twitter board last week, it is now said it is seeking funding for the acquisition. Bloomberg News reported that Musk is contacting Wall Street partners to find money for the deal.

Possible sources of funding include private equity firm Apollo Global Management or investment bank Morgan Stanley, which advises Musk on its acquisition, according to Bloomberg and the New York Post.

Musk, who recently became Twitter maximum shareholder, last week proposed that the company go private for $ 54 a share, above the current share price of about $ 45. The offer met with resistance from some investors, and the Twitter board adopted the call poison pill to prevent Musk from taking control of the company.

Musk is the richest person in the world, but much of his approximately $ 260 billion fortune is tied to Tesla shares. Musk would have to liquidate much of his stakes to buy Twitter on his own, which could dilute Tesla’s value.

On Tuesday, Musk posted a cryptic tweet suggesting he would try to buy shares directly from shareholders in a public offering.

“_______ is the night,” Musk tweeted Wednesday, apparently referring to Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “Tender is the Night.” Earlier, Musk tweeted a reference to Elvis Presley’s song, “Love me tender.”

Musk, a prolific Twitter user, has more than 82 million Twitter followers on the platform and has often argued with criticism on the platform. He is currently fighting a federal order of biting on the 2018 tweets in which he suggested he had funds to take Tesla privately, which stock regulators later found to be false.

Musk has also spoken out against what he calls censorship on the social network. His takeover bid highlighted this issue, with Musk marking his focus on “free speech.”

Musk has once again criticized the Twitter board, saying that if he were in the lead, he would save $ 3 million a year by reducing the salaries of board members to zero. He also noted that board members only collectively own a small financial stake on Twitter, which shows that their “economic interests are simply not aligned with shareholders.”

The proposed acquisition is raising the head of Twitter executives to show that the company is not performing poorly, said Olaf Groth, a business professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Even the social media business model of making money through advertising, which Musk has questioned, is “under discussion,” he said.

“He may decide it’s not worth it and he sent a political signal to put pressure,” Groth said. “Now all eyes are on Twitter and the clock is ticking.”

While Musk has said his initial offer is “final,” Musk may have to raise the offer to satisfy other shareholders. A Saudi prince who is among Twitter’s major shareholders mocked the offer last week in a tweet. Al Waleed bin Talal said he did not believe the $ 43 billion was close to the value of Twitter given its growth prospects.

Twitter shares hit an all-time high of $ 77.63 in March 2021. On Tuesday, the shares traded at about $ 45.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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