Musk likely to lead Twitter temporarily after takeover

Tesla’s billionaire boss lines up high-profile investors ready to help fund US$44 billion deal

Elon Musk was expected to become Twitter’s temporary CEO after closing his US$44 billion takeover of the firm, a person familiar with the matter said, as the billionaire inched closer to securing funds for the deal.

Musk is also CEO at Tesla and heads two other ventures, The Boring Company and SpaceX.

Tesla’s shares dropped by more than 8 per cent on Thursday, as investors fretted that Musk’s involvement with Twitter could distract him from running the electric-car maker.

Shares in Twitter, on the other hand, extended gains and were up by about 4 per cent to US$50.89, closer to the deal price of US$54.20, as investors bet the new funding made the completion of the deal more likely.

Parag Agrawal, who was named Twitter’s CEO in November, is expected to remain in his role until the sale is completed. CNBC first reported on Thursday Musk planned to become CEO on an interim basis.

Earlier, Musk listed a group of high-profile investors who are ready to provide funding of US$7.14 billion for his Twitter bid, including Oracle’s co-founder Larry Ellison and Sequoia Capital.

Saudi Arabian investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who had said last month the deal price was not sufficient for him to sell his shares, said Musk would be an “excellent leader” for Twitter and agreed to roll his US$1.89 billion stake into the deal.

“Great to connect with you my ‘new’ friend @elonmusk … Kingdom Holding Company and I look forward to roll our ~$1.9 bn in the ‘new’ Twitter,” Alwaleed said in a tweet.

Musk increased the financing commitment to US$27.25 billion, which includes commitments from 19 investors, while reducing a margin loan from Morgan Stanley to US$6.25 billion. He has already secured commitments for US$13 billion in loans.

Other investors include New York-based property tycoon Steven Witkoff’s firm and DFJ Growth IV Partners.

Musk will continue to hold talks with the existing shareholders of Twitter, including the company’s former chief Jack Dorsey, to contribute shares to the proposed acquisition, according to a regulatory filing.

Kingdom Holding Company and I look forward to roll our ~$1.9 bn in the ‘new’ Twitter

PRINCE ALWALEED BIN TALAL

Ellison, a board member at Tesla, has committed US$1 billion for the funding.

Musk, a self-proclaimed free speech absolutist who has advocated user-friendly tweaks to Twitter, such as an edit button and defeating “spam bots” that send overwhelming amounts of unwanted tweets, has previously said he would try to keep as many investors in Twitter as possible.

Investors have been fretting over whether Musk will complete the deal. In April, he decided at the last minute not to take up a seat on Twitter’s board. In 2018, he tweeted there was “funding secured” for a US$72 billion deal to take Tesla private but did not move ahead with an offer.