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Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has posted a cryptic tweet after Twitter moved to protect itself from his unsolicited purchase offer to buy the social media giant.
Musk has tweeted “Love Me Tender”, an Elvis Presley song, a day after Twitter adopted a limited duration shareholder rights plan or “poison pill” to fend off the billionaire’s $43 billion ($A58 billion) cash buyout offer.
Under this new structure, Twitter will be able to sell shares at a discount to stop any attempt from shareholders to amass a stake of more than 15 per cent. Currently, Musk has a 9.1% stake in the social media firm and is its second-biggest shareholder.
“The Rights Plan will reduce the likelihood that any entity, person or group gains control of Twitter through open market accumulation without paying all shareholders an appropriate control premium or without providing the Board sufficient time to make informed judgments and take actions that are in the best interests of shareholders,” the social media firm said in a press release.
Twitter said that the plan is set to expire on April 14, 2023.
After his TED talk on Thursday, Musk hinted at the possibility of a hostile bid in which he would bypass Twitter’s board and put the offer directly to its shareholders, tweeting: “It would be utterly indefensible not to put this offer to a shareholder vote”.
The Tesla chief executive, a self-described “free speech absolutist” who has been critical of Twitter and its policies, replied to his own past tweet in 2017 where he had asked “How much is (Twitter)” with an upside down smiley.
Shares of Twitter rose 2.1 per cent to $US46.03 in pre-market trading on Monday, still significantly below Musk’s offer of $US54.20 per share.
Since Musk disclosed his stake on April 4, the social media company’s shares have risen roughly 15 per cent.
Thoma Bravo, a technology-focused private equity firm that had more than $US103 billion ($A139 billion) in assets under management as of the end of December, informed Twitter that it was exploring the possibility of putting together a bid, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.
with news from AAP
Zoe is a content creator, specialising in speech and corporate communications. She is currently the content producer of Supply Chain Channel— a learning ecosystem dedicated to connecting and empowering the Australian supply chain community.
