Everybody has a price. And for Tesla boss Elon Musk, the price might be $5 billion. That’s the amount that he could reasonably pay Twitter to walk away from his $44 billion deal . It would save both companies a protracted legal battle, and, importantly, the headache of more disruption.
Musk, too, has lost quite a lot of net worth since he made his Twitter bid. Tesla’s market capitalization fell some $390 billion in just weeks. That’s a double whammy because he is using a chunk of Tesla stock to help pay for his Twitter bid. Musk was distracted further on Friday, when he denied allegationspublished by Insider that he sexually harassed a flight attendant on a private jet in 2016.
An agreement between Twitter and Tesla to walk away seems like a better bet at this point. Twitter’s stock price has fallen since Musk disclosed his stake in the company. Let’s say shares loosely track the Nasdaq Composite Index if the deal were called off. That would wipe around $5 billion off Twitter’s value since before Musk took a stake.
Twitter won’t rid itself of Musk completely if he maintains his shareholding. But the payout could be used for a special dividend or to bolster the company’s cash pile. Musk may be willing to pay more than the $1 billion break fee to free himself from a company he is now bashing on its own platformCONTEXT NEWS
- Elon Musk said on May 13 that the $44 billion Twitter deal was “on hold” while he waits for the social media company to provide additional data on fake accounts. A few days later, he said that the deal will not move forward until the company’s Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal shows proof that spam accounts make up less than 5% of overall users.
- Twitter said in a statement that it intends to “close the transaction and enforce the merger agreement.”Editing by Gina Chon, Sharon Lam and Pranav KiranOpinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.Sign up to our investor newsletter to get the latest news and trends in global financial markets.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Sweet Chick Secures $5 Million Investment In Chicken And WafflesAward-winning journalist and screenwriter. Specializing in food and drink for Forbes, she writes about trends before they're global, innovation before it's commercial, and the future before it arrives.
Read more »
Gas approaching $5 per gallon in NY as record prices rise across Tri-StateGas in New York is quickly approaching an average of $5 per gallon, increasing again Thursday to $4.91.
Read more »
Sweet Chick Secures $5 Million Investment In Chicken And WafflesAward-winning journalist and screenwriter. Specializing in food and drink for Forbes, she writes about trends before they're global, innovation before it's commercial, and the future before it arrives.
Read more »
Philadelphia gas station charges over $5 a gallon, prices skyrocket overnightGas prices skyrocket overnight as some Philadelphia stations start charging more than $5 a gallon.
Read more »
Gasoline Could Top $5 a Gallon This Summer, Causing More Pain for ConsumersGasoline prices are climbing towards $5 or higher nationally, and look set to stay high even beyond peak driving season in July.
Read more »
Breakingviews - Klarna’s $46 bln price tag endures only in theoryInvestors used to love Sebastian Siemiatkowski’s disruptive zeal. The Swedish entrepreneur’s “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) firm Klarna received a $46 billion price tag on a June funding round last year . That now requires a rethink.
Read more »