Billionaire Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter for a whopping $41 billion. The move comes just after a week after Mr. Musk bought over a 9% stake in the company. With that said, it is more of a Godfather-style offer.
While it is an offer Twitter can’t refuse, I’m referring to another part of the movie here. Elon Musk sent a letter to Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor. His letter states that “My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder.”
Musk to Twitter: An offer you can’t refuse
In The Godfather, Don Corleone once had his man put a gun to a band leader’s head, asking a bandleader to sign a contract. Don Corleone told the band leader that either his signature or his brain would be on the contract.
Elon Musk is trying to buy Twitter in a similar fashion. After he purchased his 9% stake, Twitter’s shares jumped by 12%. And now, Musk has offered $58 per share to buy Twitter. This offer is at a 38% premium over Twitter’s value on April 1.
Musk was offered a seat on the Twitter board but rejected it because that’d restrict him from buying more shares. Musk has played his hand and threatened to cash out his shares if the offer isn’t accepted.
Elon’s letter to Twitter’s Chairman says, “Since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company.”
That’s a pretty big comment to make within your first week with shares. It also says that Musk may have planned this all along, and Twitter may actually accept the offer.
However, Musk has a number of ideas for Twitter, and if he manages to buy it, we may get to see a complete overhaul of the platform. But what do you think of Elon Musk trying to buy Twitter?
Should people in business have active ownership of social media? Or should it be in the form of the passive ownership that has prevailed so far? Do let us know in the comments.
