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.
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.
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.
