Elon Musk Has 'Inside Man' on Twitter's Board
Billionaire is moving with 'Plan B' to take over Twitter
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Elon Musk has an "inside man" on Twitter's Board of Directors who is working with the tech billionaire in his takeover bid to buy the social media company, according to reports.
Musk has been moving forward with his "Plan B" after the board rejected his initial $43 billion offer and adopted a "poison pill" to hinder his takeover plans.
Twitter wrote in a press release: “The Rights Plan will reduce the likelihood that any entity, person or group gains control of Twitter through open market accumulation without paying all shareholders an appropriate control premium or without providing the Board sufficient time to make informed judgments and take actions that are in the best interests of shareholders.”
Musk has been fairly tight-lipped on his "Plan B" other than hinting that he is still moving forward with his plan to take over Twitter.
If Musk does have an “inside man” he may be able to outmaneuver Twitter and successfully purchase it.
Should Musk succeed, it would allow him to restore free speech on the platform with the potential of President Donald Trump and others having their banned Twitter accounts reinstated.
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According to the New York Post, Musk is attempting to bring in other investors to help bolster his bid to take the company.
“Sources close to the matter” said that a partnership could be announced “within days,” the Post reported Friday.
Among the list of potential partners to team up with Musk is private-equity firm Silver Lake Partners.
The two parties already have a working history.
According to the Post’s sources, the firm had previously planned to invest with Musk in 2018 when he attempted to take Tesla private.
The co-CEO of Silver Lake, Egon Durban, is a Twitter board member who personally “led Musk’s deal team” in 2018, the sources said.
Silver Lake declined the Post’s request for comment, as did a representative for Musk himself, the Post reported.
Such a partnership would circumvent Twitter’s attempts to block Musk’s acquisition of the company, according to The Post.
“For its part, Twitter on Friday adopted a so-called poison pill — a corporate move that prevents Musk from acquiring more than 15% of the company,” the Post reported.
“But that pill may not stop other entities or people from acquiring their own shares of up to 15% of the company.
"Those owners could partner with Musk to force a sale, make changes in the executive ranks or push for other overhauls of the company.”
In an interview Thursday as part of the TED2022 conference, Musk said his determination to buy Twitter involved more than making money, as The Hill reported.
“My strong, intuitive sense is that having a public platform that is maximally trusted and broadly inclusive is extremely important to the future of civilization,” Musk said.
“I don’t care about the economics at all.”
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As Neon Nettle previously reported, in a surprising turn, Twitter's founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey slammed the company's board as Musk moved to buy the social media giant.
In a tweet, Dorsey, who has a seat on the board and remains one of the company's largest shareholders, 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
Could Dorsey be working with Musk to take his own company back?
