(John Ransom, Headline USA) Some of the world’s richest men are stepping up to prevent the world’s richest man from buying a social media company that has become famous as much for who it excludes as who it includes.
Elon Musk, who some describe as the worlds’ richest man, has made a non-binding $54.20 per share offer for Twitter, even as he admits that it might be a little bit out of his price range, according to the New York Post
The attempted acquisition is driving the leftist ascendancy crazy, looking for a savior, as Musk has promised to restore free speech to the most-popular social media app ever.
Their white knight appears to be somebody who dresses literally in a flowing white robe.
Interesting. Just two questions, if I may.
How much of Twitter does the Kingdom own, directly & indirectly?
What are the Kingdom’s views on journalistic freedom of speech?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2022
Saudi billionaire, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who owns a 317-room palace and a yacht that was used in a James Bond movie, has stepped in the way of Musk, as one of Twitter’s largest shareholders, said the Daily Mail.
However, bin Talal, who is not a favorite of the reigning crown prince in Saudi Arabia, has indicated that Twitter might be available at a little higher price.
“I don’t believe that the proposed offer by @elonmusk ($54.20) comes close to the intrinsic value of @Twitter given its growth prospects,” Talal tweeted.
“Being one of the largest & long-term shareholders of Twitter, @Kingdom_KHC & I reject this offer,” Talal added.
The rejection warranted a retort from Musk that was razor sharp as to the stakes involved and the sides everyone represented in the fight for Twitter.
“Interesting. Just two questions, if I may. How much of Twitter does the Kingdom own, directly & indirectly?” asked Musk.
“What are the Kingdom’s views on journalistic freedom of speech? “ Musk tweeted, adding the coup de grace.
The Kingdom, of course, that Musk is referring to is the Saudi Kingdom, which has decidedly different ideas than those embodied in America’s First Amendment’s right of Free Speech, which liberals used to defend, but now abhor.
“My strong intuitive sense is that having a public platform that is maximally trusted and broadly inclusive is extremely important to the future of civilization,” Musk said, according to the New York Times.
Musk also introduced the potentially revolutionary idea that Twitter make the algorithm by which it ranks content on the site available for public audit, which might be difficult to do for a public company, unless legislation is passed to give the company safe harbor protection for publicly disclosing its proprietary information.
The Musk comments have leftists aghast that people would freely share ideas on a platform not controlled by the government.
“Can Elon Musk be stopped from taking over Twitter?” asked CNN in horror.
Leftists, and Twitter management, would literally rather the company commit suicide, which isn’t surprising from the party that supports partial-birth abortions.
Speculation is mounting that Twitter will adopt a poison pill strategy to prevent the acquisition, which will allow existing shareholders to buy deeply discounted stock, driving the price down, but the number of shares up to the point where Musk can no longer control the company.
Poison pills, however, come with a lot of liability, because all shareholders are being diluted, which could broadly be interpreted as violating the fiduciary obligation of the company to protect the shareholders, in order to look after the private interests of the management, which clearly could be in for some changes if Musk took over.
Private equity company Thoma Bravo is also reportedly working with Twitter on a competitive bid that would close out a Musk offer, said the New York Post.
If successful, the offer would fend off what is potentially becoming the most dramatic hostile takeover story since the junk bond market collapsed in the 1989, which helped finance a merger mania on Wall Street.
