Tech billionaire Elon Musk secured fresh financing from a group of investors including a Saudi Prince and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison for his $44 billion buyout of Twitter, according to a new securities filing on Thursday.
The world’s richest man received equity commitment letters from 19 investors, committing to pay $7.14 billion in cash or Twitter common stock (valued at $54.20 per share), according to the document.
The largest contribution came from Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a billionaire and one of Twitter’s largest stockholders, with $1.9 billion commitment, followed by Ellison, who agreed to invest $1 billion.
Other investors include Sequoia Capital Fund, Canadian private equity firm Brookfield, asset management firm Fidelity, Qatar Holding, Andreessen Horowitz, and crypto exchange Binance.
The Saudi prince initially dismissed Musk’s $54.2 per share offer, stating on Twitter that it did not reflect the true value of the company. But now he’s prepared to contribute his 35 million Twitter shares to remain a stakeholder in the private corporation.
Some investors believe that investing in Twitter is betting on Musk’s management rather than the company’s performance. They feel rewarded by his track record as a founder and operator of businesses such as PayPal, Tesla, and SpaceX.
Musk is expected to serve as a temporary CEO of the platform for a few months following the completion of his takeover, according to sources speaking to CNBC’s David Faber.
On April 25, Twitter accepted the Musk’s proposal of $54.20 per share in cash, which put the firm’s value at about $44 billion.
Musk had secured $25.5 billion in loans, backed in part by a portion of his stake in Tesla, according to the announcement. He had also promised to provide nearly $21 billion in cash.
With the new money, the margin loan amount partly backed by Tesla shares will be reduced from $12.5 billion to $6.25 billion. And the equity commitment has now increased from $21 billion to $27.25 billion, according to the new filing.
From The Epoch Times
