Musk could be seeking ways to tie up less of his Tesla shares as he secures funding for his planned $44 billion Twitter takeover, Reuters reported late Monday.
Tesla (TSLA) – Get Tesla Inc Report and Twitter (TWTR) – Get Twitter, Inc. Report shares were active Tuesday following a report that suggested Elon Musk is looking for broader financing options to support his $44 billion takeover of the social media group in a move that could put less pressure on existing Tesla investors.
Reuters reported late Monday that Musk, who has already sold around $8.5 billion in Tesla shares over the past month, is seeking financing alternatives to achieve the $21 billion he needs to provide personally for the deal, which is expected to close sometime in the autumn, and wants to tie-up less of his approximately 172 million in Tesla shares along the way.
Tesla shares have fallen 21.2% since Musk first made his interest in Twitter public on April 4 as investors discounted the value of Musk’s $62.5 billion in pledged stock used to secure margin loans.
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The move could also cement Musk’s intention to go through with the $44 billion takeover, given both the complexity surrounding the deal and the fact that his personal portfolio of businesses and leadership position has left him with little time to devote to the kind of large-scale turnaround he claims is required at the micro-blogging website.
Twitter should be “as broadly inclusive as possible, where ideally most of America is on it and talking”, Musk told reporters outside of the Met Gala event in New York last night. “Right now it’s sort of niche. I want a much bigger percentage of the country to be on it, engaging in dialogue.”
Twitter, however, cautioned late Monday that Musk’s pursuit of the group could lead to an exodus of employees and advertisers when completed, as well as distraction and management inertia in the short-term as the group remains focused on the implications of a new boss and the potential de-listing of its shares from the Nasdaq.
Tesla, for its part, said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it needs more time to count the value of shares that Musk has pledged against various personal and business loans ahead of its August 4 AGM in Austin.
Tesla shares were marked 0.3% lower in pre-market trading to indicate an opening bell price of $900.30 each while Twitter edged 0.5% higher to $49.40 each, still some 9% south of Musk’s $54.20 bid price.
