April 19 (Reuters) – Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk tweeted a cryptic phrase “_______ is the Night” days after he offered to buy Twitter Inc. for $43 billion.
Elon Musk’s perceived hostile takeover bid prompted the company to adopt a “poison pill” to protect itself.
This mechanism allows shareholders to exercise their rights if an investor acquires 15% or more of Twitter shares in a transaction that has not been previously approved by the board of directors.
Elon Musk, also chief executive of electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc., responded Monday with a tweet mentioning “Love Me Tender”, the title of an Elvis Presley song.
The billionaire, who is Twitter’s second-largest shareholder with a 9.1% stake, plans to launch a takeover bid in about ten days and has asked Morgan Stanley to raise an additional $10 billion through loan, according to the report.
Elon Musk could pledge his current stake if needed, which could raise several billion more dollars, according to a New York Post article.
The New York Post reported on Tuesday that the billionaire was also willing to personally invest between $10 billion and $15 billion of his own money to delist Twitter, citing two sources knowledgeable about the matter.
However, many investors, analysts and investment bankers expect Twitter’s board to reject the bid as deemed inadequate.
Twitter declined to comment on the matter, and Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
Since investment fund Thoma Bravo LP contacted Twitter last week to explore an alternative offer to Elon Musk’s, several private equity firms have also shown interest in the social network. (Reporting by Sonia Cheema, Yuvraj Malik and Akriti Sharma in Bangalore; French version Dina Kartit, editing by Jean-Michel Bélot)