- The Board of Twitter has put up a hurdle in Elon Musk’s plan on buying the social media site
- Twitter’s Board has created a poison pill, which will dilute anyone wanting a more than 15 per cent stake in the company by selling more shares to other shareholders at a discount
- This plan was put in place a day after Musk made an offer to buy Twitter shares at US$54.20 (A$73.50) each, valuing the company at about US$41 billion
- Musk has taken a swipe at the board of Twitter after they announced this poison pill saying that the board salary will be $0 if his bid is successful
- Co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey has also called out Twitter’s Board on Saturday, saying “it’s consistently been the dysfunction of the company”
The Board of Twitter has indicated it is not interested in being bought out by the world’s richest man.
Members of the social media’s board has created a move that could prevent Elon Musk from buying it.
Twitter has created a shareholder rights plan, labelled as “poison pill,” which would make it harder and more expensive for the Tesla owner or any other potential buyer to purchase the site without board approval.
Under the plan, if Musk (or any other potential buyer) buys more than a 15 per cent stake in the company, Twitter will sell more shares to other shareholders at a discount.
Formally known as a shareholders rights plan, the poison pill will be in place for one year.
This plan was put in place a day after Musk made an offer to buy Twitter shares at US$54.20 (A$73.50) each, valuing the company at about US$41 billion.
Musk has now taken a swipe at the board of Twitter after they announced this poison pill
“Board salary will be $0 if my bid succeeds, so that’s ~$3M/year saved right there,” Musk tweeted in response to a user’s post criticising the board.
Board salary will be $0 if my bid succeeds, so that’s ~$3M/year saved right there
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 18, 2022
Musk also launched a poll on Thursday asking his 80 million followers if his takeover should be up to the shareholders and not the board, in which a large number responded yes.
Taking Twitter private at $54.20 should be up to shareholders, not the board
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2022
Meanwhile, in a series of tweet replies, Co-Founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey called out Twitter’s Board on Saturday, saying “it’s consistently been the dysfunction of the company.”
Dorsey’s statement was a reply to a tweet by venture capitalist Garry Tan that said “The wrong partner on your board can literally make a billion dollars in value evaporate.”