Elon Musk buys Twitter in less than a month, the billionaire has managed to overcome the obstacles and gather enough funding to acquire the social network where it is followed by more than 83 million people. He will be able to buy Twitter at a price of $ 54.20 per share, which corresponds to a total label of about $ 44 billion. What were the stages of this acquisition, carried out at a hectic pace by the billionaire ?
· Mi-mars: Elon Musk buys Twitter
On April 4, the world learns that Elon Musk now holds 9.2% of the capital of the platform. It has actually been several weeks since the billionaire bought shares in the social network. By “forgetting” to declare his acquisition of a stake on the date provided by law, the billionaire would have saved more than 150 million dollars.
American law required him to make his participation public when it exceeded 5 %. While waiting eleven days to make this news public, the billionaire was able to buy shares at an artificially low price.
As soon as the news of its rise in capital is known, the price of the Twitter share leaps by 25% in one day. Shareholders file a complaint against the billionaire for this oversight, but their complaint is unlikely to succeed, according to the “Washington Post .
· April 11: Elon Musk renounces to sit on the board of directors
One day after the news of his entry into the capital, Elon Musk had announced his intention to join the board of directors of the social network. Before giving it up a few days later . “I think it’s for the best,” writes the new CEO of Twitter, Parag Agrawal, in a message broadcast on the platform.
A few days earlier, however, he had welcomed the news of his arrival on the board of directors. The news was also well received by Jack Dorsey, the former CEO and founder of Twitter. Speculation abounds with the reasons for this reversal, which are still not known with precision. Elon Musk is content to react with an emoji that giggles, one hand in front of his mouth.
· April 14: Elon Musk wants to buy the entire social network
Three days later, another thunderclap. The billionaire now wants to buy back the entire social network, according to a new document filed with the SEC. On the same day, Tesla’s boss participated in a TED conference. The opportunity for him, to explain in broad outline the reasons behind this decision.
The social network “has become, in a way, the public square. So it is very important that, at the same time, people have the perception and that it is the reality that they can speak freely within the limits of the law. He says it is not about “making money”, but about nothing less than protecting the future of civilization.
· April 21: Elon Musk unveils his financing plan
Until that date, many observers doubted Musk’s ability to buy the social network. The billionaire himself had left the doubt hanging by declaring at the TED conference that he was not sure of achieving his ends. He went so far as to evoke a “Plan B. But in a few days, he did manage to gather the necessary funding.
The entrepreneur managed to obtain a $ 25.5 billion loan from a few banks, including Morgan Stanley. And he agrees to pay $ 21 billion out of his pocket. These could come from the sale of Tesla and SpaceX shares, but also, possibly, from external investors including the Apollo fund.
· April 25: Twitter accepts the billionaire’s offer
At first, the board of directors had sought to save time by drawing up a “poisoned pill. This is a clause allowing Twitter shareholders to buy more low-cost shares if one of them (Elon Musk, in this case) acquires more than 15 % shares of the social network. This would have had the effect of inflating the number of Twitter actions and therefore diluting the billionaire’s share, delaying its takeover.
Finally, the board of directors voted unanimously for Elon Musk’s proposal. This includes Jack Dorsey, the founder of the social network. The acquisition has yet to be validated by the shareholders and by the American authorities, more specifically the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
According to the New York Times, there is little chance that the latter will oppose it. Elon Musk owns two companies in the transport sector, Tesla and SpaceX, which have nothing to do with Twitter. The acquisition should therefore be approved by the end of the year. Until the operation is finalized, Parag Agrawal should retain its post as CEO.
