Social media giant Twitter has begun deal negotiations with Elon Musk after he wooed many of the company’s shareholders with financing details on his Ksh.4.9 trillion (43 billion U.S. dollars) acquisition offer.
The company’s decision to engage with Musk, taken earlier does not mean that it will accept his Ksh.6,270.56 54.20 U.S. dollars per share bid.
It signifies, however, that Twitter is now exploring whether a sale of the company to Musk is possible on attractive terms.
Musk, chief executive of electric car giant Tesla, has been meeting with Twitter shareholders in the last few days, seeking support for his bid. He has said Twitter needs to be taken private to grow and become a genuine platform for free speech.
Many Twitter shareholders reached out to the company after Musk outlined a detailed financing plan for his bid on April 21 and urged it not to let the opportunity for a deal slip away.
Musk’s insistence that his bid for Twitter is his “best and final” has emerged as a hurdle in the deal negotiations.
Nevertheless, Twitter’s board has decided to engage with Musk to gather more information on his ability to complete the deal, and potentially get better terms.
Twitter has not yet decided if it will explore a sale to put pressure on Musk to raise his bid. The people with knowledge of the matter declined to be identified because the deal discussions are confidential.
However, the company wants to know more about any active investigations by regulators into Musk, including by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), that would present a risk to the deal being completed, one of the sources said.
