Twitter Board Goes on the Defensive Over Elon's Hostile Takeover

Twitter Board Goes on the Defensive Over Elon’s Hostile Takeover

While Twitter’s board mulls over Elon’s offer to buy Twitter in a 43B hostile takeover, they’ve pulled in a trick up their sleeve with a poison-pill defence.

This move called the Shareholder-rights plan makes it difficult for the incendary tech mogul to take his take beyond the 15% now that he doesn’t have to follow board member rules. The Tesla CEO already snapped a 9.2% stake in the company.

The Rights Plans is legal and makes it difficult for shareholders to increase their stake past a limit set by letting others buy more shares at a discount. This move helps companies buy themselves time when a hostile takeover bid is presented.

“The Rights Plan does not prevent the Board from engaging with parties or accepting an acquisition proposal if the Board believes that it is in the best interests of Twitter and its shareholders,” the company shared in a statement.

“In the event that the rights become exercisable due to the triggering ownership threshold being crossed, each right will entitle its holder (other than the person, entity or group triggering the Rights Plan, whose rights will become void and will not be exercisable) to purchase, at the then-current exercise price, additional shares of common stock having a then-current market value of twice the exercise price of the right,” Twitter adds.

Early this week, Elon Musk made his bid to buy all of Twitter at $54.20 per share – what he calls his best and final offer.

Twitter’s market value stands at $37 billion.

This move increases Twitter’s value making it worth more than the $43 billion Elon offered.

This announcement was made to the US Securities and Exchange Commission and left Twitter shares rising to 18%.

Elon Musk said that Twitter has “extra-ordinary potential” and that he will “unlock it”

The board isn’t ready to accept his offer and take Twitter private.