आईसीटी समाचार
Elon Musk's efforts to secure new funding that will restrict his financial commitment to his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter have been halted, according to people familiar with the subject. Musk has threatened to walk away from the transaction unless Facebook supplies him with facts to back up its claim that fraudulent or spam accounts make for fewer than 5% of its user base. Musk's attorneys sent a letter to Twitter on Monday threatening that until additional information is provided, he may walk away.
Musk must spend $33.5 billion in cash to complete the transaction after arranging loan financing to cover the remainder. His liquidity is constrained since his fortune, estimated by Forbes to be $218 billion, is mostly connected to Tesla shares, the electric vehicle manufacturer he runs. According to the sources, Musk has been in talks to arrange $2 billion to $3 billion in preferred equity financing from a consortium of private equity companies led by Apollo Global Management, which would limit his cash commitment even further.
According to one of the individuals, these discussions are now on hold until there is clarity regarding the acquisition's future. The halt in funding operations is the first obvious indication that Musk's threats are interfering with actions that would help the acquisition close. So far, Twitter has argued that Musk has fulfilled his contractual obligations, including assisting in obtaining regulatory approval for the purchase. Musk and Twitter representatives did not reply to calls for comment. Apollo remained silent.
Musk sold $8.5 billion in Tesla stock after signing the contract to acquire Twitter, and it is unclear how much cash he has available to satisfy his obligation. To decrease his commitment, he has secured $7.1 billion from a group of equity co-investors. Musk also attempted to mitigate this risk by arranging a hazardous $12.5 billion margin loan related to Tesla stock, but cancelled it last month. Preferred equity would pay a predetermined dividend from Twitter, similar to how a bond or loan pays monthly interest, but would increase in pace with the company's equity value.
