Musk suggested that everyone who signs up for Twitter Blue, a subscription version for power users, should get an authentication checkmark. He suggested Twitter should convert its San Francisco headquarters into a homeless shelter “since no one shows up anyway.” And he made some crass jokes, suggesting removal of the “w” in Twitter.
April 10: Twitter makes the news public
On Sunday, Agrawal sends out a note to employees, and later tweets it publicly. Neither Agrawal or Musk give a reason for the reversal.
April 11: Speculation abounds
Musk files an amended disclosure with the SEC. He can now purchase as many shares as he wants. Without a board seat, he no longer has to act in the best interest of Twitter shareholders. At Twitter, which doesn’t have a founder with majority control like other tech giants, employees are “ super stressed,” concerned that this is only the beginning of the whiplash.
April 14: Musk offers to buy the whole company
In an SEC filing and accompanying tweet, Musk said he would buy out stockholders in a cash deal valued at $43 billion and take Twitter private. The offer is $54.20 a share, a 54% premium over the price when he started building his stake in January. The number is also an apparent (and not-very-subtle) reference to Musk’s failed bid to take Tesla private in 2018 for $420 a share — and, of course, to a special number in pot culture. Morgan Stanley is brought in to advise on the bid, which Musk describes as his “best and final” one.
April 15: Twitter adopts ‘poison pill’ to ward off Musk takeover
To thwart Musk, Twitter launched a so-called poison pill, which is a rights plan that allows shareholders to purchase shares at a discount if any shareholder exceeds 15% ownership. This would effectively dilute the billionaire’s stake. The company said in a statement that the intention of the plan is to ensure that anyone taking control through open-market accumulation pay all shareholders an appropriate premium. Twitter has been fielding interest from other parties, including private equity firm Thoma Bravo, according to a person familiar. The company is being advised by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, a friend of Musk, acknowledged in a tweet that as a public company Twitter has always been for sale.
April 16: ‘Twitter’s board owns almost no shares’
In a flurry of tweets about the potential deal, Musk said, “With Jack departing, the Twitter board collectively owns almost no shares,” so its economic interests are not aligned with shareholders. Dorsey replied, “It’s consistently been the dysfunction of the company.” Dorsey is scheduled to leave the board once his term expires at the next shareholder meeting on May 25.