Ask ten tech insiders about the future of Twitter right now and you’re likely to hear at least five different answers.
Some are dismissing Elon Musk’s $54.20 per share bid to take the company private. Others are taking it very seriously and predicting Musk will prevail. Still others are salivating as they watch from afar. “Well, this could be entertaining,” the WSJ’s editorial board opined Thursday night.
When I put the future-of-Twitter question to fellow CNN+ host Scott Galloway, he said “I don’t think this is a serious offer and the market doesn’t think this is a serious offer,” noting that the stock closed down 1.7% on Thursday. Galloway called Musk’s move a “false flag.” He said “the market has interpreted this, and I think correctly, as, ‘I’m about to sell my shares,’ and as a result,” the stock price slipped. (You can watch our full CNN+ special report here.)
Some other analysts were equally skeptical on Thursday. But Michael Nathanson of MoffettNathanson said he would urge Twitter “to take this offer and run,” citing the company’s many business challenges. And financial journalist and former banker William D. Cohan said the anti-Musk takes were all wrong: Twitter “is toast,” he wrote for Puck. “The job for the Twitter board will be to do whatever it can do — which isn’t much — to make the best deal with Musk that it possibly can. And it will do that. And Twitter will be sold to Elon Musk. That’s the way the world works. His price is fair and there will be no higher bidder. That is unless Musk flakes, and walks away, which he’s been known to do.”
What will Twitter’s board say?
BY CLARE DUFFY:
It’s a strong enough offer that Twitter’s board has a responsibility to seriously consider it, and CEO Parag Agrawal is said to have told employees that the evaluation process is still ongoing, according to reporting by The Verge and others. The board could reject the offer or put in place defensive mechanisms that could force Musk to the negotiating table. Musk could also make what’s called a tender offer to buy shares en masse directly from shareholders. And another potential buyer could emerge from the woodwork. In any case, there’s going to be more chaos surrounding the company in the coming days. More here…
>> Related: Casey Newton’s thought at the end of the day: “I have no idea who is going to own Twitter when all is said and done. But I worry that events of the next weeks and months are going to be bad for the company, and the product…”
>> Alex Heath’s prediction: “We are about to see a messy takeover battle play out between Twitter, Musk, and potentially others…”
Has Musk really thought this through?!
BY BRIAN FUNG:
On stage at the TED Conf
