21 June 2022

Elon Musk’s proposed £35.8bn Twitter deal gets board endorsement

21 June 2022

Twitter’s board has recommended unanimously that shareholders approve the proposed 44 billion dollar (£35.8 billion) sale of the company to billionaire and Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, according to a regulatory filing.

Mr Musk reiterated his desire to move forward with the acquisition last week during a virtual meeting with Twitter employees, though shares of Twitter remain far below his offering price, signalling considerable doubt that it will happen.

Shares rose about 3% to 38.98 dollars before the opening bell on Tuesday, far short of the 54.20 dollars per share that Mr Musk has offered for each share.

The company’s stock last reached that level on April 5 when it offered Mr Musk a seat on the board before he had offered to buy all of Twitter.

Elon Musk reiterated his desire to move forward with the acquisition last week (Andrew Matthews/PA) (PA Archive)

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday detailing a letter to investors, Twitter’s board of directors said that it “unanimously recommends that you vote (for) the adoption of the merger agreement”.

If the deal were to close now, investors in the company would pocket a profit of 15.22 dollars for each share they own.

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