The Twitter takeover saga continues with a new development and, of course, a new SEC filing.
On Thursday, Elon Musk confirmed in a new filing that he has secured funding for his bid to buy Twitter and take it private. The filing states that Musk has secured a total of $46.5 billion in funding.
This large sum is broken down in the filing as follows: $21 billion of equity financing, $12.5 billion in margin loans from banks (Morgan Stanley among them), and $13 billion from banks (that also include Morgan Stanley) in the form of three different loans and a “senior secured revolving security.”
This latest filing also confirms that Musk’s stake in the company remains at 9.1%. The filing also acknowledges Twitter’s “poison pill” strategy, and maintains that Twitter hasn’t responded to Musk initial proposal. Because of the latter, Musk’s filing says that he is now “exploring whether to commence a tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock” in Twitter.
According to Investopedia, a “tender offer” is an invitation to current shareholders to sell their stock “for a certain price at a certain time.” In this case, Musk is considering extending such an invitation at a price of $54.20 per share. At the time of this writing, Twitter is currently at $46.74 per share.
But just because Musk has secured funding and says that he is considering a tender offer, that doesn’t mean a takeover is sure to happen. The filing also includes the following sections, which seem to indicate that the bid is also just as likely to not happen:
“There can be no assurance that a definitive agreement with respect to the Proposed Transaction will be executed or, if executed, whether the Proposed Transaction will be consummated. There is also no certainty as to whether, or when, the Issuer may respond to the Letter, or as to the timetable for execution of any definitive agreement. The Reporting Person reserves the right to withdraw the Proposal or modify its terms at any time, including with respect to the amount or form of consideration. Neither the Letter nor this Schedule 13D is meant to be, nor should be construed as, an offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell any of the Issuer’s securities. This Schedule 13D is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell Shares of Twitter.
The Reporting Person has not commenced, or determined to commence, any tender offer for Shares of Twitter.”
And so, while it is clear that Musk is able to purchase Twitter, the offer itself is still up in the air.
