Hours after Tesla CEO Elon Musk offered to buy 100% shares of Twitter for a whopping $43 billion, Saudi Arabian billionaire businessman al-Waleed bin Talal refused to sell his stake of 5.2% in the micro-blogging platform.
In a tweet on Thursday (April 14), Talal cited the future growth prospects of Twitter and low share value for turning down the offer of Elon Musk. He said, “I don’t believe that the proposed offer by Elon Musk ($54.20) comes close to the intrinsic value of Twitter given its growth prospects.”
“Being one of the largest & long-term shareholders of Twitter, Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) & I reject this offer,” the Saudi businessman and member of the Royal family emphasised.
I don’t believe that the proposed offer by @elonmusk ($54.20) comes close to the intrinsic value of @Twitter given its growth prospects.
— الوليد بن طلال (@Alwaleed_Talal) April 14, 2022
Being one of the largest & long-term shareholders of Twitter, @Kingdom_KHC & I reject this offer.https://t.co/Jty05oJUTk pic.twitter.com/XpNHUAL6UX
Al-Waleed bin Talal had shared another tweet from October 2015, wherein he had announced his acquisition of a 5.2% stake in Twitter and extending the market cap of the company by over 3.5 billion riyals through the Kingdom Holding Company.
While reacting to the development, Elon Musk had inquired, “How much of Twitter does the Kingdom own, directly & indirectly? What are the Kingdom’s views on journalistic freedom of speech?”
Interesting. Just two questions, if I may.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2022
How much of Twitter does the Kingdom own, directly & indirectly?
What are the Kingdom’s views on journalistic freedom of speech?
The Tesla CEO had also responded to a tweet that questioned the ‘obsession’ of Saudi Arabia in blocking the offer made by him.
Good question
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2022
In November 2019, two former Twitter employees were charged for spying at the behest of the Saudi Arabian Kingdom.
The employees, identified as Ali Alzabarah and Ahmad Abouammo, reportedly used their access to the internal systems of Twitter to spy on dissidents of the Saudi regime and American citizens. They were accused of acting as foreign agents within the territory of the United States.
Elon Musk vows to unlock the potential of Twitter by buying out the company
Amidst all the speculations, Elon Musk made an offer to buy 100% shares of Twitter Inc. Musk, who is in the news after owning the largest share of 9.2% stake in the company, claimed he would ‘unlock its extraordinary potential’ after turning the company into his private ownership.
Musk junked down the offer for joining the board of directors of the company, which he had initially accepted after a condition was put before him that we would not be able to raise his stake beyond 15%. Now as an independent investor, Musk is keen on buying the whole of Twitter itself and making the company private.
Making an offer to buy Twitter.Inc in cash, he added, “I am offering to buy 100% of Twitter for USD 54.20 per share in case, a 54% premium over the day I began investing in Twitter and a 38% premium over the day before my investment was publicly announced.”
Will endeavor to keep as many shareholders in privatized Twitter as allowed by law
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2022
He had posted the link to the SEC filing regarding the offer, which included his communications to the company. He was seen texting the Twitter board chairman saying the company should go private by this coming weekend.
Elon Musk said that he’s done playing it ‘back-and-forth’ and was moving straight to buy Twitter, a plan he always had at the back of his mind. He said that he lacked confidence in the Twitter management, and would reconsider his share in the company if his offer was not accepted.
“If the deal doesn’t work, given that I don’t have confidence in management nor do I believe I can drive the necessary change in the public market. I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder,” the Tesla CEO said categorically.
