- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Toddler among 4 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
Elon Musk's move to buy Twitter faces roadblocks
Even for the richest person on the planet, buying Twitter was always going to be a challenge –- a highly complex financial transaction now made even trickier by a defensive "poison pill" move from the platform's board.
Musk's $43 billion offer lays out the myriad potential pitfalls: possible government approvals, legal as well as regulatory due diligence, negotiations of a final agreement and, of course, how to pay for it all.
Then Twitter's board on Friday showed it won't go quietly, saying any acquisition of over 15 percent of the firm's stock without its OK would trigger a plan to flood the market with shares and thus make a buyout much harder.
"Your move @elonmusk," tweeted Silicon Valley journalist Kara Swisher.
The offer itself, which Musk said was final, values Twitter at $54.20 per share -- above the closing price ahead of his bid, but below a high of $77.06 hit in February of last year.
Even with a moderate and inflexible proposal, which could help the board argue for rejection, it's a fraught moment that could end in lawsuits from just about everyone involved.
To succeed in repelling Musk's offer, the Twitter board will need to be on solid ground making an argument that the company is worth more, said Wharton School finance professor Kevin Kaiser.
Shareholders who feel that the board is rejecting a profitable deal will be free to file lawsuits against Twitter.
- Sidestep the board? -
Musk has the option of sidestepping the board and trying to buy shares directly from shareholders on the market, but that could lead to tedious negotiations with some stock owners holding out for more money.
"The Twitter board has limited ability under Delaware law to stop a tender offer made directly to the shareholders, which Elon Musk hasn't done, but which he could do if he chose to," Kaiser said.
"If he does this, and if the shareholders elect to tender their shares, then he can succeed without needing board support or approval."
While the serial entrepreneur's net worth is estimated at $265 billion by Forbes, his fortune is not sitting in a bank account waiting to be spent.
Musk said at a TED Conference that he had "sufficient funds" to consummate the deal, but financial analysts describe the situation as more complicated.
Much of Musk's wealth comes from shares of electric car maker Tesla, which he runs.
Musk would need to turn a chunk of his Tesla holding into cash, either by selling shares or taking out loans with stock as collateral.
"The specifics of how Musk would finance the deal will determine the ramifications for Twitter," Moody's said in a note to investors.
Moody's estimated it would cost Musk $39 billion to buy all the outstanding Twitter shares, and that there would be "a strong chance" he would have to repay or refinance the San Francisco-based company's billions of dollars of existing debt.
That was before the poison pill move by Twitter that ramps up the cost for Musk.
Musk tweeted a poll that hinted he might be thinking of taking his bid directly to shareholders.
He asked whether taking the company private for his offered price should be up to shareholders and not the board.
As the poll neared its close on Friday, more than 2.7 million votes had been cast with nearly 84 percent of them in favor of the idea.
Selling a massive amount of shares in Tesla to buy Twitter would come with a large tax bill based on capital gains, and could cause shares in the electric car company to sink as the market is flooded with stock for sale.
Musk could keep hold of his shares and get a loan, absorbing the interest payments. Or he could team up with a deep-pocketed partner, but that could come with the strong-willed executive having someone to answer to regarding his decisions at Twitter.
G.Stevens--AMWN