Musk willing to invest up to US$15 billion of own money to fund Twitter takeover

NEW YORK - Billionaire businessman Elon Musk is looking to invest up to US$15 billion of his money to delist Twitter from the New York Stock Exchange and take it private to pursue his aim of making the social media giant a model of free speech, Sputnik quoted the New York Post report Tuesday, citing sources in the know.

Musk, who is estimated by Forbes to be worth some US$270 billion, making him potentially the world’s richest person, bought a 9.1per cent stake in Twitter for about US$$3 billion two weeks ago and followed that up with a US$43 billion offer for the remaining shares which he did not already own in the world-popular microblogging service.

Despite his wealth, Musk appeared to be facing difficulty in raising money for the deal, the Post said. It said the billionaire chief executive of electric car-maker Tesla and space travel company Space X was planning to launch a tender offer in about 10 days where Wall Street bank Morgan Stanley could raise a further US$$10 billion in debt.

Several private-equity firms also seem keen in participating in a deal for Twitter, the Post said.

Musk declared on Monday that he will not take a penny in salary if appointed to Twitter's board of directors, unofficially sweetening his takeover bid.

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a substantial shareholder in Twitter, has described Musk’s offer of US$54.20 for a share of the company versus Tuesday’s traded price of around US$46.50, as below value.

Twitter’s board is also opposed to Musk’s offer. The company announced on Friday that its board of directors have adopted a shareholder rights plan - or so-called Poison Pill - to reduce the likelihood that any person, entity or group would be able to gain full control over the company without paying a premium.

Some analysts who have studied Musk's bid flag concerns for both sides, saying Musk could revolutionise Twitter’s free-speech model against the will of its board, but also use his influence on the platform to silence criticism against decisions he makes at Tesla and his other businesses. - BERNAMA