Jack Dorsey Slams Twitter's Board amid Elon Musk's Buyout Bid
Founder and former CEO says board of directors holding company back
© press
Twitter's founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey has slammed the company's board of directors as tech entrepreneur Elon Musk is trying to buy the social media giant.
In a tweet, Dorsey suggested that the board is holding Twitter back and has been for some time.
He was responding to a post on Twitter that was commenting on the board's efforts to reject Musk's offer to buy the company.
"If look into the history of Twitter board, it’s intriguing as I was a witness on its early beginnings, mired in plots and coups, and particularly amongst Twitter’s founding members," the post said.
"I wish if it could be made into a Hollywood thriller one day.”
Dorsey responded to the tweet, saying: “It’s consistently been the dysfunction of the company.”
it’s consistently been the dysfunction of the company
— jack⚡️ (@jack) April 17, 2022
Dorsey also said “big facts” in response to the following statement from venture capitalist Fred Destin: “What I do know for sure is that this old Silicon Valley proverb is grounded in age-old wisdom that still applies today: Good boards don’t create good companies, but a bad board will kill a company every time.”
When later asked if he was allowed to speak like this publicly given the fact that he is still on the company’s board, Dorsey responded, “No.”
no
— jack⚡️ (@jack) April 17, 2022
Twitter has attempted to stop Musk from taking over the company by adopting a so-called “poison pill” that effectively allows all shareholders, except those trying to buy out the company, to purchase newly offered shares at a discounted price.
Musk would have to purchase the new shares at a higher price, which could end up being too much for him to afford if he wanted to take over the company.
Despite throwing a massive roadblock in Musk’s way, the adoption of the poison pill would not bar Musk from being able to buy the company, it would only make it harder.
“A poison pill is a way to stave off someone until you can get a higher price. It makes it outrageously expensive for the person to buy it,” said Charles Elson, the founding director of the University of Delaware’s Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance.
“It’s a doomsday machine, it’s the atomic bomb, everyone gets wiped out — that’s the key.”
© press
Musk revealed during a TED Talk last week that he had a "Plan B" in place if Twitter blocked his attempt to buy the company.
“If in this case, you are not successful in that the board does not accept your offer, you’ve said you won’t go higher, is there a plan B?” Musk was asked.
“There is,” Musk responded while smiling.
When asked what his backup plan is, Musk said he would discuss that at another time.
