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BEIJING, April 25 (TMTPOST) — Social media giant Twitter is negotiating with billionaire and veteran entrepreneur Elon Musk over an acquisition deal.
Twitter and Elon Musk could finalize a deal as early as Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported, quoting sources familiar with the matter.
Musk, the billionaire who founded electric vehicle giant Tesla, had proposed his US$43 billion bid for Twitter. On April 21, Musk released details on a US$46.5 billion financing plan, including a US$43 billion offer and related transactions fees. He pledged to pour in US$33.5 billion himself for the proposed takeover, including US$21 billion worth of shares and US$12.5 billion of margin loan. In addition, several banks, including Morgan Stanley, have agreed to back him up with US$13 billion.
See also: Musk Has a War Chest in Place to Buy Twitter
Musk started to buy shares in Twitter in January this year. On April 4, he revealed that he had acquired a 9% stake in the company, which makes him the biggest individual shareholder of Twitter. Since announcing his stake in the social media platform, Mush has been calling for changes to Twitter, advocating that Twitter should loosen its rules over what users are allowed to post on its platform.
After Musk proposed to acquire Twitter at the price of US$54.20 per share, Twitter adopted a limited duration shareholder rights plan, also known as a “poison pill”, in response to the hostile takeover bid. The poison pill would dilute anyone amassing a stake in the company of more than 15% by selling more shares to other shareholders at a discount.
Twitter shares rose in early trading Monday.
