Twitter moves to shield itself from Musk takeover bid – The National

Twitter moves to shield itself from Musk takeover bid – The National

Twitter adopted a measure that would shield it from hostile acquisition bids, taking steps to thwart billionaire Elon Musk’s unwelcome offer to take the company private and make it a bastion of free speech.

The board set up a shareholder rights plan, exercisable if a party acquires 15 per cent of the stock without prior approval, lasting for one year only. The plan seeks to ensure that anyone taking control of Twitter through open market accumulation pays all shareholders an appropriate control premium, according to a statement on Friday.

The Tesla chief executive on Thursday offered $54.20 a share in cash for Twitter, valuing the social media company at $43 billion. Mr Musk, who said it was his “best and final” offer, had already accrued a stake of more than 9 per cent in Twitter since earlier this year. Twitter’s board met on Thursday to review Mr Musk’s proposal to determine if it was in the best interest of the company and all of its shareholders.