Elon Musk secures over $7-bn funding in new financing for Twitter buy
Elon Musk has secured about $7.1 billion of new financing commitments for his proposed $44 billion takeover of Twitter, winning the backing of some of the world’s largest investors.
He was also expected to serve as temporary chief executive officer of Twitter for a few months after he completes the deal, CNBC reported on Thursday.
The equity commitments come as the Tesla billionaire marshals capital to bankroll one of the biggest tech industry takeovers. The investors named in the filing on Thursday include crypto exchange Binance, Brookfield Asset Management, Fidelity Management & Research, and Qatar Holding.
Musk has also won the support of fellow entrepreneur and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, who has a big stake in Tesla and a seat on its board. Ellison’s trust has committed $1 billion to finance Musk’s takeover.
Twitter shares rose 3.63 per cent in intraday trade.
The world’s wealthiest person reached an agreement on April 25 to acquire Twitter using a financing plan that’s alarmed some Tesla investors. In addition to pledging tens of billions of dollars worth of his Tesla shares to support margin loans, Musk vowed to line up some $21 billion worth of equity. That number has risen to $27.25 billion, according to Thursday’s filing.
Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of the board at Kingdom Holding Company and one of Twitter’s largest backers, has agreed to commit almost 35 million shares in Twitter — worth $1.9 billion — to retain a stake in the company following Musk’s takeover.
He previously rejected Musk’s bid, stating that it failed to come “close to the intrinsic value of Twitter.” Musk is also in discussions with Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey on contributing some of his shares toward the acquisition.
Musk’s latest backers includes a bevy of traditional asset managers, venture capital firms, boutique hedge funds, and one of the world’s largest pools of capital. Qatar Holding, a unit of the nation’s wealth fund, has agreed to commit $375 million.
Silicon Valley venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, who has publicly feuded with Dorsey on Twitter, has agreed to commit $400 million via his fund A16Z. Fellow venture firm Sequoia Capital is putting up double that, with $800 million.
Smaller investors include Witkoff Capital, the real estate-backed family office, and Cartenna Capital, a hedge fund set up by Peter Avellone, a former Millennium Management portfolio manager.
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
