By Alicia Maher
A new WSJ report has revealed Twitter is seriously reconsidering Musk’s buyout offer. The report also claimed that the deal might be completed as early as this week. However, nothing is certain as of now.
The Deal May Be Completed Before The Weekend
Tesla CEO’s desire to completely own Twitter may be back on the cards as there are reports that the Twitter executive is starting to reconsider his offer. The WSJ even claimed that the deal might be finalized before this week is over. Earlier, the Twitter board rejected Musk’s $44B offer to buy out all Twitter shares.
However, the WSJ reports that there have been new discussions regarding the bid in the past 24 hours. While inside sources say that the discussions have progressed thus far, they added that some minor details still need to be sorted. Despite a possible deal being finalized this week, Musk may face competition to own Twitter completely.
After Musk’s initial offer, which he deemed final, several other groups have shown interest in owning the social platform. However, interest from others hasn’t deterred Musk from revealing his plans once he assumes full control of Twitter. Musk, who had earlier revealed that he would take the company private, also revealed that none of the board of directors would be entitled to salaries.
The current richest man’s desire for the platform to allow freedom of speech was one of his reasons for owning nearly 10% of Twitter shares. However, many industry experts regard his decision to own the platform completely could trigger many issues, including legal disputes. Other industry analysts predict that many of the current Twitter board of directors will resign once Musk assumes full control of the platform.
Also, there has been some debate over the reactions of the politicians and other influential figures if Musk becomes Twitter’s new owner. Twitter has been the social platform used the most by many politicians and influential figures to express their opinions.
Twitter Shares Plummet
The takeover news has affected Twitter shares. After Musk’s 9.3% acquisition of Twitter shares and subsequent announcement of a buyout offer, Twitter’s share price surged almost immediately. However, the share price gradually plummeted following the Twitter board’s rejection of Musk’s offer. While Twitter’s share since the beginning of this year hasn’t been impressive, its year-on-year performance remains positive.
Perhaps, the decline in Twitter’s share price is one of the reasons the Twitter board is reconsidering Elon Musk’s buyout offer. If Musk assumes full control of Twitter, a sharp rise in the platform’s shares is likely. More importantly, the change of hands would have severe ramifications on the tech, economic and political fronts.
According to various sources, Musk won’t likely pay only the buyout fee; the board would likely squeeze more money out of him through what they regard as a “break up” fee. While some industry analysts claim that Musk doesn’t have sufficient funds to pull off the offer, his sec regulatory filing proves otherwise.