Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, may be able to overtake Tesla despite the social media site’s attempts to prevent him from doing so by adopting a “poison pill” strategy.
A “poison pill” allows any shareholder, with the exception of those attempting to acquire it, to purchase new shares at a reduced price. If he wanted to take control of Twitter, Musk would have to buy the new shares at a higher price, which could leave him unable to pay.
Musk’s chances of securing a clean takeover of Twitter have been significantly reduced as a result. He will now be required to negotiate with the board, modify his offer, or pay considerably more money — something corporate governance professionals said is highly improbable. There are other, more dramatic options available, such as attempting to remove the board, but they would be even more difficult for Musk.
The adoption of a poison pill, on the other hand, would not prevent Musk from purchasing Twitter. It would just make it more difficult for him to acquire the firm.
“A poison pill is a strategy to stall someone until you are able to get a higher price. It makes it prohibitively expensive for the individual to acquire it,” Charles Elson stated. “It’s a doomsday device; it’s the atomic bomb; everyone is destroyed — that’s the key.”
There are now three potential outcomes, none of which is ideal for Twitter’s board: Elon Musk may win by successfully launching a proxy fight to remove the directors and cancel the poison pill; Musk may force the firm to find an alternative buyer, at an even higher price, making his holdings more valuable; Musk leaves and hands the firm and board a lawsuit mountain of furious shareholders blaming them for damaging the value of their stock.
Musk, according to a report in the New York Post on Friday, was holding discussions with other investors about joining his vision for the firm in order to increase financial backing so that he may acquire it.
According to Mark Cuban, Musk should team up with right-wing billionaire Peter Thiel to acquire the firm.
“Do you want to see the entire world go crazy?” Cuban wrote. “Get Peter Thiel to work with Elon Musk and increase the bid for Twitter.”
