Hours after proposing to buy Twitter worth $41.39 billion, Space X and Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Thursday said that he is not sure if he will be able to acquire Twitter. Speaking at a TEDx conference in Vancouver, Musk said, “The civilizational risk is decreased the more we can increase the trust of Twitter as a public platform. And I do think this will be somewhat painful. I am not sure that I will be actually able to acquire it.”
“The intent is to retain as many shareholders as allowed by the law,” he added.
Musk, who currently has a 9.2 per cent stake in Twitter, has offered $54.20 per share, at a 38 per cent premium to the closing price of Twitter’s stock on April 1, the last trading day before Musk bought the majority stake in the company.
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Musk currently owns 73.5 million shares of common stock in his personal capacity. Musk's stake in Twitter is considered a passive investment, which means Musk is a long-term investor that's looking to minimize his buying and selling of the shares.
In a letter to Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor Musk said, “Since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company."
“My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder," he added.
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Musk became the second-largest shareholder of the company, after Pennsylvania-based investment firm, Vanguard Holdings acquired a 10.3 per cent stake in Twitter. The investment firm now owns 82.4 million shares of Twitter, thus becoming the largest shareholder in the company.
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