From Tweeting to Owning, How Did Elon Musk Buy Twitter? 🤔
Elon Musk is an avid twitteratti and you might have better odds at predicting a lottery winner than what his next tweet could be! It came as a surprise to netizens when Elon suddenly announced on Twitter that he's buying the platform for a whopping $44 bn! This news has stunned the market as he acquired the company for $54.20 per share in less time than most of us take to tweet! 🤯
But how did it happen? Let's take a deeper look. 🔍
Strategy : Experts hint at it as a "hostile takeover" strategy. It all began on 4 April 2022, when Elon Musk announced his purchase of a 9.2% stake in Twitter. He then offered to buy the entire company on 14 April 2022. Soon after becoming a major shareholder, Elon offered to either buy the company and take it private or reassess his position as a stakeholder if Twitter wasn't ready to sell. ♨️
Takeover : As a comeback, Twitter used a "Poison Pill" strategy. To prevent Elon from buying the entire company, they diluted the shareholding of all holders by offering aggressive discounts on stock prices. The expected bid price was set to discourage Elon from taking over Twitter without the board's approval. However, Elon Musk took over the influential global network by striking a deal on 25 April 2022. And, for now, he is advocating 'free speech,' beginning his tweets with Coca Cola, ice cream, and fun - leaving the world sceptical about the organisation's upcoming leadership style. 🤔
Volatility : The stock market took notice as well. On Monday, Twitter's stock gained 5.7% to $51.70, its highest closing value in nearly 5 months. Concerns about Tesla's shares have also risen due to the stock's loss of $126 bn in market value shortly after the takeover, raising questions about how Elon is financing his Twitter acquisition. Morgan Stanley, an investment bank, is leading the fundraising headlines with $21 bn in equity and $20 bn in loans, but financial details are yet to come up as speculation stirs. 🎢
Road Ahead : Elon Musk has floated ideas for upcoming features, but the employees express uncertainty as CEO, Parag Aggarwal states, “Once the deal closes, we don’t know what direction this company will go in”. 😶🌫️
The company that is known to shape the modern global narratives (with its 217+ mn daily users) now awaits Elon's responses to mounting speculation and challenges to settle the dust. This reminds us of how a simple tweet is subtly more powerful and influential than many think it to be! 🔥
