Technology

Musk Targets Twitter Board As Company Adopts 'Poison Pill'

Share this article

Share this article

Technology

Musk Targets Twitter Board As Company Adopts 'Poison Pill'

Share this article

Elon Musk took a swipe at the board of Twitter on Monday after the social media company adopted a "poison pill" to protect itself from the second-biggest shareholder's $43 billion cash buyout offer.

"Board salary will be $0 if my bid succeeds, so that's ~$3M/year saved right there," Musk tweeted in response to a user's post criticizing the board.

Musk, a self-described "free speech absolutist" who has been critical of Twitter's policies, did not elaborate on the tweet. Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Continuing his tirade against the company, Musk had launched a poll on Thursday asking his 80 million followers if "taking Twitter private at $54.20 should be up to shareholders, not the board", to which a large majority responded "Yes".

Later, the Tesla chief executive also tweeted "Love Me Tender", an Elvis Presley song, after Twitter opted a plan to sell shares at a discount to prevent any attempt by shareholders to amass a stake of more than 15%. Musk currently has a 9.1% stake.

Meanwhile, in a series of tweet replies, co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey called out Twitter's board on Saturday, saying "it's consistently been the dysfunction of the company."

Dorsey's statement was a reply to a tweet by venture capitalist Garry Tan that said: "The wrong partner on your board can literally make a billion dollars in value evaporate."

Shares of Twitter were up about 4% at $46.85, still significantly below Musk's offer of $54.20 per share. They have risen roughly 15% since Musk disclosed his stake on April 4.

Meanwhile, Twitter has also been informed by Thoma Bravo, a technology-focused private equity firm that had more than $103 billion in assets under management as of the end of December, that it was exploring the possibility of putting together a bid.

(Reporting by Akriti Sharma, Chavi Mehta and Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Arun Koyyur)

Related Articles
Get news to your inbox
Trending articles on News

Musk Targets Twitter Board As Company Adopts 'Poison Pill'

Share this article