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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Bevan Hurley

Twitter considering Elon Musk takeover bid after billionaire secures funding, report says

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Twitter executives are reportedly meeting to discuss Elon Musk’s $46.5bn offer on Sunday in a sign they may be warming to the billionaire’s hostile takeover attempt.

The Wall Street Journal reported Twitter was re-examining Mr Musk’s bid to buy the social media site for $54.20 per share after the Tesla CEO secured financing for the deal.

Elon Musk offered Twitter shareholders $54.20 per share

This marks a major turnaround from last week, when the Twitter board announced they would attempt to use a “poison pill” shareholder rights plan to stop the takeover.

Mr Musk also met with Twitter shareholders on Friday to drum up support for his bid, The Journal reported.

The social media company is expected to address the takeover bid during its first-quarter earnings call on Thursday.

Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this month, Mr Musk announced he had bought a 9 per cent stake in Twitter and would join its board.

He later backed out of the board and said he wanted to take Twitter private instead.

Mr Musk, the world’s wealthiest person with an estimated net worth of $270bn, has said that he wants to buy the company to protect “free speech” and unlock what he said is the “extraordinary potential” of the social network.

Unsupported twitter embed

The board countered his move by filing for a shareholder rights plan known as a “poison pill”, which would dilute his stake by selling discounted shares.

Since launching his takeover bid, Mr Musk has regularly used his Twitter account to poke fun at the company.

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