Elon Musk secures over $7-bn funding in new financing for Twitter buy

Expected to serve as temporary Twitter CEO

Elon Musk has secured about $7.1 billion of new financing commitments for his proposed $44 billion takeover of Twitter, winning the backing of some of the world’s largest investors. 

He was also expected to serve as temporary chief executive officer of Twitter for a few months after he completes the deal, CNBC reported on Thursday.

The equity commitments come as the Tesla billionaire marshals capital to bankroll one of the biggest tech industry takeovers. The investors named in the filing on Thursday include crypto exchange Binance, Brookfield Asset Management, Fidelity Management & Research, and Qatar Holding.

Musk has also won the support of fellow entrepreneur and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, who has a big stake in Tesla and a seat on its board. Ellison’s trust has committed $1 billion to finance Musk’s takeover.

Twitter shares rose 3.63 per cent in intraday trade. 

The world’s wealthiest person reached an agreement on April 25 to acquire Twitter using a financing plan that’s alarmed some Tesla investors. In addition to pledging tens of billions of dollars worth of his Tesla shares to support margin loans, Musk vowed to line up some $21 billion worth of equity. That number has risen to $27.25 billion, according to Thursday’s filing.

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of the board at Kingdom Holding Company and one of Twitter’s largest backers, has agreed to commit almost 35 million shares in Twitter — worth $1.9 billion — to retain a stake in the company following Musk’s takeover. 

He previously rejected Musk’s bid, stating that it failed to come “close to the intrinsic value of Twitter.” Musk is also in discussions with Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey on contributing some of his shares toward the acquisition.

Musk’s latest backers includes a bevy of traditional asset managers, venture capital firms, boutique hedge funds, and one of the world’s largest pools of capital. Qatar Holding, a unit of the nation’s wealth fund, has agreed to commit $375 million.

Silicon Valley venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, who has publicly feuded with Dorsey on Twitter, has agreed to commit $400 million via his fund A16Z. Fellow venture firm Sequoia Capital is putting up double that, with $800 million.  

Smaller investors include Witkoff Capital, the real estate-backed family office, and Cartenna Capital, a hedge fund set up by Peter Avellone, a former Millennium Management portfolio manager.

Shorting Tesla isn’t hurting environment, says Gates

Elon Musk has accused Bill Gates of damaging his environmental credibility by shorting Tesla stock. The Microsoft founder says he’s simply diversifying his investments. Asked by the BBC whether he had bet against the electric-vehicle pioneer, Gates said the move had nothing to do with climate change. “The popularity of electric cars will lead to more competition for selling those cars,” Gates said. “So there’s a difference between electric cars being adopted, and companies becoming infinitely valuable.” (Bloomberg).