Elon Musk increases his direct contribution to buy Twitter
Elon Musk announced on Wednesday that he had further lowered the amount borrowed from banks to buy the social network Twitter.
Since the revelation of Elon Musk’s stake in the capital of Twitter in early April, the group has lived to the rhythm of the many twists and turns of the case.
AFP
Elon Musk raised to 33.5 billion dollars (about 32.2 billion francs) the sum brought directly by the entrepreneur and his partners for the takeover of Twitter, further lowering the amount borrowed from banks, an announcement which has pleased investors.
After the announcement, the action of the bluebird group soared in trading after the close of Wall Street. Around midnight, the title took more than 5%. The chief executive of Tesla, who had initially subscribed for 25.5 billion loans, lowered these loans to 13 billion dollars, according to a document registered on Wednesday by the American authority of the markets (SEC), which considerably lightens his load. financial.
At the beginning of May, several existing shareholders of Twitter had already agreed to contribute their shares to the operation and thus remain a minority within the capital once the company is delisted. The valuation of their titles reduced the envelope that Elon Musk had to put on the table.
“Poker” shot
On Wednesday, the SpaceX founder announced that he had received new direct commitments, which allowed him to reduce the amount of loans taken out for the acquisition by an additional 6.25 billion. He did not specify whether this amount came, in whole or in part, from his personal assets, or whether other investors had joined him.
But he said he was in discussions with several people, including co-founder and former chief executive Jack Dorsey, with a view to getting them on board and getting their contribution, either in cash or in Twitter shares, which could still reduce the amount borrowed.
“Elon Musk is simply changing the funding structure. This is a step forward, it partially reduces the pressure on the debt side, ”commented expert Dan Ives, from Wedbush, on Twitter. “The high stakes poker game continues. The odds of the deal going through are now 50/50, down from 40/60, in our view,” he added.
Twists
The $12.5 billion in loans that were ultimately not needed had worried some analysts because they were loans backed by Tesla securities. They thus created a link with the car manufacturer, which had displeased the market. Since the revelation of Elon Musk’s stake in the capital of Twitter in early April, the group has lived to the rhythm of the many twists and turns of the case.
Tuesday the action had fallen to 35.40 dollars, or 35% less than the price officially proposed by the fiery entrepreneur in mid-April and validated, a little later, by the board of directors. A shift interpreted by Wall Street as an illustration of investors’ doubts about the chances of success of this takeover.
One less ally
These doubts were fueled by the multi-billionaire himself, who blew hot and cold last week. In particular, he announced that he was suspending the operation because he wanted to ensure “that spam and fake accounts really represent less than 5% of the number of users”. Before reiterating its commitment to acquire the social network.
Twitter boss Parag Agrawal stepped up to detail the measures taken to fight fake accounts and Elon Musk responded with several messages, including a simple laughing poop emoji. On Wednesday, during the general meeting of the group, the shareholders voted against the re-election to the CA of Egon Durban, co-director general of the investment fund Silver Lake and ally of the boss of Tesla.
The issue of buyout was not raised during the AGM. The vote of the shareholders on the offer of Elon Musk will have to be the subject of an extraordinary general meeting, on a date not known for the moment. Tensions between the management of Twitter and the richest man in the world have multiplied since the beginning of April. The CA had initially tried to prevent the transaction before bowing.
