Jack Dorsey speaks on stage at the Bitcoin 2021 Convention, a cryptocurrency conference in Miami, … [+]
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After Twitter’s board on Friday moved to shore up defenses against Elon Musk’s hostile takeover bid, Musk has sought to use the company’s platform against it, launching a series of critical tweets this weekend at the board that sought to characterize the directors as irresponsible.
What’s more unusual is who else was lobbing complaints: Jack Dorsey, the Twitter cofounder who left as CEO only in November and remains a board member until next month.
Dorsey labeled the board as “consistently the dysfunction of the company” and said he agreed with venture capitalist Gary Tan’s statement that a badly run board “could literally make a billion dollars in value disappear.” When another Twitter user asked Dorsey if he was allowed to speak publicly this, Dorsey had a clear response. “No,” he said said.
Musk sought to paint the board as out of touch with the company’s best interest by noting their small holdings in Twitter stock. “With Jack departing, the Twitter board collectively owns almost no shares!” Musk wrote. “Objectively, their economic interests are simply not aligned with shareholders.”
Musk, the Tesla CEO, has offered to buy Twitter for $ 54.20 a share, an approximately $ 43 billion valuation on the company. On Friday, the board announced it had adopted a poison poll measure, which would allow them to sell stock and dilute Musk’s ownership. It is a signal the board has little interest in accepting Musk’s proposal. Musk has said he won’t make another one, though it’s entirely possible that the unpredictable electric-car billionaire may change his mind. As for Twitter, it may elect to find a buyer it sees as more suitable, a so-called white knight defense strategy.
Worth noting: There’s no evidence to suggest some formally organized collusion by Musk and Dorsey. But even an unintended or informal campaign by two of the most important players in this battle — who reached a combined 90 million people on Twitter — could play an important role in turning public opinion against the board.
Dorsey’s beef with Twitter board goes back to Twitter’s start. In 2008, it sided with cofounder Ev Williams, firing Dorsey and installing Williams as CEO. (During another boardroom coup, in 2010, Williams was then replaced by then chief operating officer Dick Costolo. Five years later, with Twitter stock sagging, Costolo left and Dorsey came back.) More recently, Dorsey has been a strong proponent for decentralizing social. media, though it’s been unclear precisely what those goals may entail. Dorsey is funding a Twitter-based project called Bluesky to study the idea.
