KEY FACTS
Musk broke the news on a Monday video call with the bankers, according to Bloomberg, citing sources close to the deal.
Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Barclays are the primary financiers, each committing at least $2.5 billion in debt financing for the deal
The banks will set aside the cash by Thursday, according to Bloomberg.
Musk had until Friday to complete the acquisition, or he would be forced to face Twitter in a trial at Delaware’s Chancery Court as part of the company’s lawsuit to push through the deal.
Elon Musk told the banks that are partially funding his $44 billion Twitter acquisition he plans to close the deal by Friday, a deadline set by Delaware state court judge, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, as the world’s wealthiest man finally seems set on purchasing the social network after a very public case of buyer’s remorse.
KEY BACKGROUND
In total, Musk secured $12.5 billion in loans from the banks, with the rest of the funds coming from his own horde of cash, which has swelled as he sells tens of billions of dollars in Tesla stock, and a slew of equity investors, including billionaires Marc Andreesen and Larry Ellison and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund. In April, Twitter accepted Musk’s unsolicited offer to take the company private at $54.20 per share before the parties became entangled in a six-month legal tug-of-war, with Musk trying to pull out of the deal as Twitter sued him to close the acquisition.
SURPRISING FACT
The banks plan to keep the $13 billion in debt for the time being after facing a likely $500 million loss on any sale, according to Wall Street Journal and Reuters, a rare step for debt financiers. That would make this the largest stalled deal ever, according to Business Insider.
CRUCIAL QUOTE
“They’re big boys, they can deal with it,” JPMorgan Chase Dimon told CNBC earlier this month when asked about his rivals potentially taking a massive loss with Twitter.
Source Forbes