Topline
Twitter is closing in on a deal to sell itself to billionaire Elon Musk that could be announced as soon as Monday, Reuters and Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the situation.
Billionaire Elon Musk speaks at a Tesla event earlier this month.
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
Twitter is considering accepting Musk’s original offer to pay $ 54.20 per share in cash, according to Reuters and the Wall Street Journalvaluing the social media company at about $ 43 billion.
There is still a possibility the deal collapses during the final stages of negotiations, the Wall Street Journal reports, though Twitter may make the deal official as soon as Monday after its board meets with investors, according to Reuters.
Twitter shares jumped 4.7% to 51.25 in pre-market trading, continuing the stock’s gains since Musk’s bid for the company became public earlier this month.
Twitter did not immediately respond to Forbes‘request for comment.
Key Background
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, became Twitter’s largest shareholder April 4 when he purchased a 9.2% stake in the company for 2.89 billion. Twitter’s board had openly resisted a sale to Musk previously, adopting a poison pill April 15 to prevent a hostile takeover from Musk, though the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday the board was warming to Musk’s offer. Musk disclosed in an SEC filing last week he secured $ 46.5 billion in funding for his Twitter bid. Musk’s 83 million followers make him one of the most popular Twitter users and he has been a frequent critic of Twitter, openly questioning if the company’s policies infringe on freedom of speech.
Big Number
269.7 billion. That’s how much Musk is worth, making him the wealthiest man in the world, according to Forbes‘Real-time calculations.
Further Reading
Twitter Now More Open To Negotiating With Elon Musk On Acquisition, Report Says (Forbes)
EXCLUSIVE Twitter set to accept Musk’s ‘best and final’ offer-sources (Reuters)
