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Elon Musk claims he has financing to buy Twitter

April 21, 2022

The billionaire entrepreneur says he has secured $46.5 billion in financing for his bid to take over the social media giant Twitter. The Tesla and SpaceX owner says he is "exploring whether to commence a tender offer."

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Elon Musk, dressed in a gray T-shirt and black sport coat, speaks in front of a dark background
The flamboyant billionaire says he wants to take over Twitter to ensure free speech, though not everyone is convincedImage: Miguel Roberts/AP/picture alliance

Billionaire businessman Elon Musk on Thursday announced that he had secured $46.5 billion (€42.8 billion) in financing that could be used to launch a hostile takeover of the social media company Twitter.

In documents filed with US securities regulators, Musk said he was exploring the possibility of purchasing Twitter outright.

Thursday's filing claimed that "entities related to [Musk] have received commitment letters committing to provide an aggregate of approximately $46.5 billion."

The letter further stated that Musk is "exploring whether to commence a tender offer ... but has not determined whether to do so at this time."

Musk first floated the plan to buy Twitter for the sum of $43 billion, or $54.20 per share, last week.

Should he pursue the plan, Musk would offer his so-called tender bid directly to shareholders rather than doing so through the company's board of directors.

Musk, Twitter's second-largest shareholder, says he would put up $21 billion of his own cash, as well as a further $12.5 billion in margin loans. His Thursday filing says another $13 billion would come through debt financing from Morgan Stanley, a bank.

After the controversial businessman announced his desire to privatize the social media company in order to unleash its "extraordinary potential" and ensure free speech, Twitter's board of directors quickly adopted a "poison pill" defense to protect the company from his hostile takeover bid. 

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js/nm (AFP, AP, Reuters)