The provision, known in financial parlance as a “poison pill,” is triggered if rival shareholders take more than 15 percent of a company’s shares without the board’s approval.
Twitter, the subject of an unsolicited takeover by Elon Musk, announced Friday, April 15, that it was taking steps to protect itself from such attacks that were supposed to prevent Tesla bosses from easily redeeming their shares.
The plan must “reduce the likelihood of any entity, individual or group taking control of Twitter by accumulating securities in the market without paying an appropriate premium to all shareholders or giving the board sufficient time to make an informed decision,” the group said in a statement. stated in the statement. statement.
Known as a “poison pill” in financial parlance, the clause is triggered if a rival shareholder exceeds 15% of a company’s shares without the consent of the board of directors (CA). At this stage, Elon Musk owns just over 9% of Twitter’s capital.
If he buys back enough shares to reach 15%, all other shareholders on the platform will be able to buy back at a lower price, which will greatly increase the price the entrepreneur has to pay for full control. Social network.
Very critical of moderation policies
The Twitter announcement suggests the San Francisco-based company intends to fight an attempt by the world’s richest man to buy it and make it private.
The billionaire announced a proposal to buy the social network for $43.4 billion, compared to its current valuation of about $36 billion. He said on Thursday that he had “sufficient funding” and pledged to have a Plan B if the board rejected his proposal, adding in a live interview at the Ted2022 conference that he didn’t want to “make money.”
He is very critical of Twitter’s content moderation policy, saying he wants to make it “the world’s platform for free expression” with fewer restrictions on what users can tweet.
“I’m not sure I can buy it”
On Friday, the billionaire tweeted: “Thank you for your support! A Bitcoin Archive poll titled “Would you like Elon Musk to buy Twitter?” ». About 73% of 19,494 voters answered “yes”. As a follower of the format, he also asked his own question: “Turning Twitter into a private company for $54.20 [€50] should be the responsibility of the shareholders, not the CA”. Of the 2.9 million votes cast, more than 83 percent voted in favor.
“I think it’s going to be quite painful. I’m not sure I’ll be able to buy it,” the whimsical entrepreneur admitted Thursday, before explaining that he wants to attract as many existing shareholders as possible to his project. One has already reacted: Saudi prince and investor Al-Walid bin Talal announced on Twitter that he had “rejected” an offer that was too low compared to “Twitter’s intrinsic value.”
But analysts at Wedbush Securities commented that the influence and pressure exerted by Elon Musk did not leave much room for Twitter executives, who predicted the billionaire will emerge victorious after many ups and downs.
