AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
FRA
GER
ESP
ITA
NLD
PRT
SWE
GRC
IND
POL
BRA
ZAF
RUS
CHN
UAE
Highlights
- Elon Musk sold his Tesla stocks worth US$4 billion after his US$44 billion Twitter deal.
- Musk has now sold over US$20-billion Tesla stocks in the last six months.
- The Twitter deal is one of the biggest leveraged buyouts in US market history.
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk sold about US$4 billion worth of Tesla Inc. (TSLA) stocks barely days after he sealed a US$44 billion deal to acquire Twitter Inc.
As per regulatory filings, Musk sold the shares on April 26 and April 27. In the last six months, he disposed of more than US$20 billion of Tesla Inc. stocks.
Many investors were apprehensive of Musk’s plan to buy Twitter after reaching an agreement on April 25 with the social media platform.
The richest man on earth, Musk pledged a substantial portion of his Tesla shares to support margin loans to own Twitter. He confirmed to arrange some US$21 billion worth of equity for the purpose.
This development of the Twitter takeover has taken the corporate world by storm. Shares of both Twitter and Tesla remained wobbly in the following days.
Also Read: Eli Lilly’s (LLY) Q1 revenue grows 15% on obesity drug sales
© Wellesenterprises | Megapixl.com
Also Read: Mastercard’s (MA) net income soars 43% in Q1 as travel picks up
Tesla shed billions in market value after Musk’s Twitter deal
However, Tesla Inc.'s shares rose 3% as of 4:30 a.m. ET before the start of regular trading on Friday.
On Thursday, Twitter Inc. shares closed at US$49.11. It was below the US$54.20 mark, which Twitter investors would receive for each share they own under the deal.
Ever since Musk disclosed his stake in Twitter at the start of this month, Tesla has shed about US$275 billion in market value. After the filing on Thursday, Musk tweeted that he had no further plans to sell Tesla stocks.
The Twitter deal is a history in the making as the biggest leveraged buyout. Musk must arrange for US$25.5 billion of debt and margin loan to materialize the purchase, including financing from Morgan Stanley. If any of the parties decides to back off, it will pay a termination fee of US$1 billion under certain circumstances.
Bottom line:
Musk sold more than US$16 billion of his Tesla shares in late 2021. It was Musk’s first stock disposal in more than five years. Last November, he started a poll on Twitter asking his followers whether he should cut his Tesla holdings, creating a furor. Shortly after, he began his disposals.
