The battle for Twitter has taken a new turn after the microblogging site pressed the ‘poison pill’ button to prevent Elon Musk from taking over the social media giant.
Musk made the bid in a letter to the board of Twitter — the micro-blogging platform that has become a global means of communication for individuals and world leaders — and it was made public in a regulatory filing on Thursday.
Musk hinted at the possibility of a hostile bid in which he would bypass Twitter’s board and put the offer directly to its shareholders, tweeting: “It would be utterly indefensible not to put this offer to a shareholder vote.”
Under the plan, also known as a ‘poison pill’ strategy to resist a bid from a potential acquirer, the rights will become exercisable if anyone acquires ownership of 15 percent or more of Twitter’s outstanding common stock in a transaction not approved by the Board.
The rights plan will expire on April 14, 2023, Twitter said.
Musk could alter the course of the social media company as the management battles a set of proxy proposals focused on topics from civil rights to politics at its upcoming annual meeting.
Whatever the outcome of Musk’s bid to buy Twitter outright announced on Thursday, investors with opposing political views described the billionaire entrepreneur as likely to work to undo some of the restrictions on content that Twitter has imposed as it attempts to promote free speech while combating hate speech and false information.
Even if he fails to buy Twitter, the Tesla CEO, who recently disclosed a 9.6 percent stake, is seen as likely to vote in ways that could shake up the company at its virtual May 25 meeting, said people who follow corporate governance issues.
Musk said his offer price of $54.20 per share was meant to promote open discourse. At the virtual meeting, he will control the second-largest stake after Vanguard Group, enough to give either investor a kingmaker role in close contests.
