WSJ Reports Twitter Will Reconsider Elon Musk Offer – Opinion

Perhaps Twitter might be willing to consider Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s offer to buy the company after all. The social media platform is reportedly taking another look at the billionaire’s offer to take over the company.

The Wall Street Journal reported:

Twitter Inc. is re-examining Elon Musk’s $43 billion takeover offer after the billionaire lined up financing for the bid, in a sign the social-media company could be more receptive to a deal.

Twitter was expected to reject the offer that Mr. Musk had made earlier in March without revealing how he would finance it. According to people familiar with this matter, Twitter now looks at the offer carefully and may seek out negotiations after Mr. Musk revealed last week that he has $46.5 million in funding. Twitter is unlikely to accept this situation, even though it’s moving quickly.

According to reports, Musk and Twitter will meet on Sunday to discuss this proposal.

Musk seems to be working tirelessly in the background to gain support for his company’s takeover. WSJ noted that he “met privately” with several shareholders on Friday to “extol the virtues of his proposal.” The Tesla CEO also “pledged to solve the free-speech issues he sees as plaguing the platform and the country more broadly, whether his bid succeeds or not,” the author wrote.

Musk believes Twitter’s management will be able to get the company’s stock to be valued at $54 per share, which is what the Tesla CEO is offering to buy the platform. Twitter is expected to discuss Musk’s bid when it reports first-quarter earnings, which could happen by Thursday.

Originally, it seemed the company would reject Musk’s offer, and even took steps to make it more difficult to take over. Its leadership took a “poison pill” and devalued its own stock to allow other shareholders to buy more shares to prevent him from obtaining a controlling interest in the organization.

Musk’s disclosure that he had $46.5 billion of financing has caused the company to change its mind. “Twitter is taking a fresh look at the offer and is more likely than before to seek to negotiate, people familiar with the matter said,” according to the WSJ. “The situation is fast-moving and it is still far from guaranteed Twitter will do so.”

The report noted that:

Following the meeting, Mr. Musk has already received support from some of his shareholders. Lauri Brunner, who manages Thrivent Asset Management LLC’s large-cap growth fund, sees Mr. Musk as a skilled operator. “He has an established track record at Tesla,” she said. “He is the catalyst to deliver strong operating performance at Twitter.” Minneapolis-based Thrivent has a roughly 0.4% stake in Twitter worth $160 million and is also a Tesla shareholder.

Musk might consider presenting a tender to shareholders in order to make his proposal directly. WSJ explained. However, he still needs to figure out a way to avoid the poison pill.

This is an interesting twist in the story. Although many people are thrilled about the possibility of Musk purchasing Twitter, and that they will address their political-biased censorship policies, this seemed like an unlikely outcome. While this revelation does not mean that the deal is certain, it suggests it may be less likely than expected.