Twitter uses a ‘poison’ tactic before billionaire Elon Musk’s proposal

Billionaire Elon Musk joined Twitter in 2009 – Photo: BANGKOK POST

According to AFP news agency, Twitter’s board has approved a plan for shareholder rights, or “poison”, that goes into effect if an investor buys more than 15% of shares without consent. of the council.

Currently, billionaire Elon Musk is holding 9.2% of Twitter shares with a total value of up to $ 2.9 billion according to the closing trading price on April 1.

The “poison” defensive tactic gives existing shareholders the right to buy back shares at a lower market price, with the aim of diluting the intended acquirer’s stock.

This measure is often applied by businesses under pressure from “hostile takeovers”.

According to AFP, adopting the “poison” tactic will make it difficult for buyers to buy too many shares without the consent of Twitter’s board. Experts say that this is a powerful tool to fight against being taken over.

However, Twitter said adopting the “poison” tactic didn’t stop discussions or even agreeing to an acquisition.

Earlier, according to Reuters news agency, Mr. Musk had offered to buy Twitter for $ 54.2 per share. Billionaire Musk also affirmed that this is the last and best price he can offer.

Mr Musk admitted he was unlikely to succeed in his offer to buy Twitter and declined to elaborate on “plan B”. According to AFP, billionaire Musk once noted that if rejected, he could consider selling existing shares.

Billionaire Musk has more than 80 million followers since joining Twitter in 2009 and has used the platform to make many important announcements. Mr. Musk said Morgan Stanley was the financial advisor for his bid to buy Twitter.