Twitter has yet to formally respond to Musk’s offer,but the company has enacted an anti-takeover measure known as a poison pill that could make a takeover attempt prohibitively expensive.
The company said in a statement on Thursday that it received Musk’s updated proposal and “new information on potential financing,” and its board is “committed to conducting a careful,comprehensive and deliberate review.”
Musk,who owns about 9 per cent of Twitter shares,indicated that he’s exploring what’s known as a tender offer in which Musk would try to get other shareholders to pledge their stock to him at a certain price on a certain date,bypassing the board. If enough shareholders agree,Musk could use that as leverage to get the board to drop the poison pill defence against his offer.
But Musk hasn’t decided yet whether to do that.
Last week,Twitter’s board adopted the “poison pill” defence that could make a takeover attempt prohibitively expensive. If someone acquires a 15 per cent stake in the company,it would trigger a huge payout to shareholders that could bankrupt Twitter.
Other banks involved in Musk’s financing include Barclays,Bank of America,Societie Generale,Mizuho Bank,BNP Paribas and MUFG. Morgan Stanley is one of Twitter’s biggest shareholders,behind Vanguard Group and Musk.