Washington: Billionaire businessman Elon Musk declared that Twitter’s board of directors won’t be compensated for serving if he acquires the company.
"Board salary will be $0 if my bid succeeds, so that's $3M/year saved right there," Musk wrote on Twitter in response to user Gary Black's series of tweets examining Musk's $43 billion offer to buy out all of the company traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
Musk's bid prices Twitter at $54.20 per share, at least 17% higher than the $46.18 it traded at the time of this writing. On April 4, he bought a 9.2% stake in Twitter at $49.97 per share, or almost $3 billion, making him then the largest shareholder.
Musk, who has called himself a "free speech absolutist" and is one of Twitter's most-prolific users, has said his main concern is with the social media platform's content moderation policies.
In March, he tweeted out a poll that asked users whether the site, which has banned numerous persons, including former president Donald Trump, adhered to the principle of free speech.
Twitter's board of directors has actively said it will veto Musk's bid, described by Saudi Prince Alwaleed, who is also a substantial shareholder in the company, as being below value.
The board has also expressed concern about how Musk will finance the offer, with the billionaire not revealing any details on that as yet.
Black, the Twitter user who has been examining Musk's offer, raised the same point on Monday. "Hard for $TWTR investors to take @elonmusk $54.20 bid seriously until he provides details of how he intends to finance his bid. $TWTR -1.4% to $44.50, now 18% below Elon's bid," Black, managing partner at investment advisory The Future Fund, said.
However, Black also noted that the interests of Twitter's board members did not seem aligned with that of its shareholders. "The board serves to represent shareholders. If they refuse to act in the best interest of SHs [shareholders], they should be removed and replaced by new board members who understand their fiduciary obligations," he said.
Some analysts who have studied Musk's bid flag concerns for both sides, saying Musk could revolutionize Twitter's free-speech model against the will of its board and use his influence on the platform to silence criticism against decisions he makes at his electric car manufacturing company Tesla and his other businesses. (Inputs from UNI)
