In a regulatory statement, Twitter revealed that Musk had offered to buy all of the company’s stock in circulation for $ 54.20 per share. With 800 million shares available, the company is worth just over $ 43 billion. Speaking at a TED conference in Vancouver on Thursday, Musk said his motives were not financial, but out of a desire to maintain Twitter’s “public square.” “This is not a way to make money … I’m not interested in finances at all,” he said. “It’s just my strong, intuitive feeling; that having a public platform that is as credible and broadly inclusive as is crucial to the future of culture,” said Musk, Tesla’s CEO. I made an offer https://t.co/VvreuPMeLu – @ elonmusk
“The truth matters to me, a lot,” he said of his motives. “Somewhat pathologically, it matters to me.” The move is the latest in a month-long saga between Musk and Twitter, after it was revealed in early April that it had quietly bought more than 73 million shares of the company – more than any other individual or entity. This led to his invitation to join the company’s board of directors, but that prospect collapsed days later. CLOCKS Musk’s Twitter account raises questions about his plans:

Elon Musk becomes Twitter’s largest shareholder, sparking questions about motivation

In an unexpected move, Tesla CEO Elon Musk took a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter – becoming the largest shareholder in the social networking company. Musk has not publicly revealed the motives, but some experts say they are worried he could use his share to change the tone of Twitter. 2:02
Musk described his hostile takeover bid as the “best and final price” for the company, but acknowledged that the deal was not certain. Investors seem to think the deal is highly questionable, as the shares traded at $ 45 each on Thursday, well below Musk’s offer price.

What happens next

“Investors are not waiting for another bid or bidding war,” said Colin Cieszynski, SIA Wealth Management Strategy Officer in Toronto. Daniel Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities in New York, told CBC News in an email that he thinks it may take 30 to 45 days to settle the process, but ultimately believes Musk will be successful. “This soap opera will end with Musk owning Twitter following this aggressive hostile takeover of the company,” Ives said. CLOCKS The technical analyst says that Musk will win in the end:

Analyst denies Musk’s move on Twitter

Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives discusses why Elon Musk is trying to buy Twitter and whether the billionaire’s hostile bid is likely to succeed. 3:39
The multi-billionaire has been heavily criticized on Twitter in recent weeks, mainly because of his belief that he lags behind the principles of freedom of speech. The social media platform has angered fans of former US President Donald Trump and other far-right politicians whose accounts have been suspended for violating content standards on violence, hatred or harmful misinformation. Musk also has a history of his own tweets causing legal trouble. He confirmed that if he succeeds in his offer, he would like to implement the much-discussed editing button that would allow users to change a tweet after it was published. The edit feature would only be available for “a short time,” Musk said, and the edit would “reset all retweets and favorites.” He also vowed to eliminate “spam and scam bots” on the platform.

“Technically I could afford it”

Musk, who has a fortune of more than $ 259 billion, has the financial means to buy Twitter, but says he would prefer to privatize the company with as many private investors as possible, as they share a common goal of maintaining the platform. Open. “It’s not from the point of view of figuring out how to monopolize or maximize my property,” he said. Asked at a conference in Vancouver if funding had been secured for the deal, he said ironically: “I could technically afford it.” This “secured funding” line was a reference to something that got him into hot water with regulators in 2018, when he said on Twitter that he planned to privatize Tesla’s electric car company for $ 420 a share. This agreement was never implemented and he had to settle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for $ 40 million to mislead investors. In his comments Thursday, Musk rekindled this old fight. “With Tesla back in time, the funding was really secured – I want to be clear about that,” Musk said, adding that he had compromised with the SEC at the time because of pressure from regulators. He described it as “like having a gun in your child’s head. So I had to give it up”, and used a verb phrase to describe the SEC.

The Twitter board is meeting to discuss the offer

Musk has described himself as a “liberalist of free speech” and said he did not believe Twitter adhered to the principles of free speech – a view shared by Trump supporters and a number of other right-wing politicians who have been suspended by their accounts for violating Twitter content rules. “Be very careful with permanent bans,” he said. “I think timeouts are better.” Twitter’s board has acknowledged receipt of Musk’s offer and will meet on Thursday to discuss whether to accept it or recommend to shareholders that it reject it. There is a staff meeting with Twitter employees at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, the American financial channel CNBC reported. At least one prominent Twitter investor has made it clear that he is not interested in selling for what Musk is offering to pay. Saudi Prince Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud, another major Twitter shareholder, opposed the deal, saying the price offered did not “approach the intrinsic value of Twitter, given its growth prospects”. I do not think his proposed offer
Being one of the largest & long-term shareholders of Twitter, pic.twitter.com/XpNHUAL6UX – @ Alwaleed_Talal
Through his personal stakes and influence in Saudi Arabia’s national investment fund, the prince says he will soon control more than five percent of Twitter shares and has no interest in selling them to Musk. Geneviève Roch-Decter, CEO of Toronto-based Grit Capital, says Musk’s interest comes as no surprise. “Billionaires like to own media platforms,” ​​she told CBC News in an interview, “and Elon Musk loves his loudspeaker.” CLOCKS Here’s why Twitter shareholders may want to sell:

Will Twitter shareholders accept Musk’s offer?

Geneviève Roch-Decter, CEO of Grit Capital, says Twitter’s business model has been under pressure for some time, so she will be tempted to sell to Musk if she owns a company. 1:14
Regardless of the price paid, Roch-Decter says it would be worthwhile for Musk to have so much media presence without having to worry about profitability. “This is a man who spends zero dollars on marketing … His marketing is just tweeting crazy things.” The company’s share price has been withering for years, which may make the acquisition prospect attractive to many shareholders. “He’s kind of a dinosaur,” he said. “I’m not sure having just one edit button here and a tip container here will move the dial to revenue.” Other analysts believe that the story is far from over. “Musk’s ‘best and final’ $ 43 billion non-binding offer has many conditions, including the completion of funding, which we believe gives it a low chance of success,” said Robert Siffman, a credit analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “[But] “Fiancés with good capital, white knights, could appear.”