The billionaire made this announcement on Friday, awaiting details on the proportion of false accounts on the social network.
Le Monde with AFP
The director general of Tesla and the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, announced, Friday, May 13, suspend the acquisition of Twitter pending details on the proportion of false accounts on the social network. The group’s action immediately plunged approximately 20 %, in electronic exchanges preceding the opening of Wall Street.
The social network announced, on April 25, to have accepted the billionaire’s offer. The latter had made a buy -off proposal on April 14, saying that he was ready to pay 54.2 dollars (52.1 euros) per share. This represented a premium, that is to say a bonus, 54 % compared to the title’s opening price on January 28, when Mr. Musk began to invest in Twitter. In total, Mr. Musk put 43 billion euros on the table and ensures that he was able to build the corresponding financing plan.
The next day, Twitter had announced to set up a clause, nicknamed “poisoned pill”, supposed to prevent Elon Musk from easily redeem his actions. Several shareholders, including the fund led by the Saudi prince al-Walid Ben Talal Al Saoud, one of the main shareholders of Twitter, had judged Mr. Musk’s offer too weak.
For several days, the possibility of a takeover had seemed to move away – Mr. Musk, customary changes suffered from strategy and provocations, had also given up, in mid -April, to sit on the council of administration of the company, of which he had become the main shareholder. In parallel, he had multiplied criticism against the company … on Twitter, where he is one of the most followed personalities, with more than 90 million subscribers.