Elon Musk lugs sink into Twitter HQ as $44B deal deadline looms
Video above: Musk reportedly wants 75% cut to Twitter workforce
Elon Musk, the billionaire poised to acquire Twitter later this week, strolled into the company바카라 게임 웹사이트s headquarters Wednesday carrying a porcelain sink and tweeting 바카라 게임 웹사이트Entering Twitter HQ - let that sink in!바카라 게임 웹사이트
Musk바카라 게임 웹사이트s $44 billion deal to take Twitter private faces a Friday deadline, although the video he posted offered no evidence that the acquisition is complete. Twitter and Musk representatives had no comment on that question, although Twitter did confirm that Musk's video tweet was real. Musk also changed to refer to himself as 바카라 게임 웹사이트Chief Twit바카라 게임 웹사이트 and his location to Twitter's San Francisco headquarters.
The splashy video 바카라 게임 웹사이트 a vintage Musk production 바카라 게임 웹사이트 also pulled the spotlight back to the world's richest man and his on-again, off-again pursuit of the social platform.
The Friday deadline to consummate the deal was ordered by the Delaware Chancery Court in early October. It is the latest step in an epic battle during which Musk signed a deal to acquire Twitter, then tried to back out of it, leading Twitter to sue the Tesla CEO to force him to conclude the deal. If the two sides don't meet the Friday deadline, the next step could be a November trial.
Robert Anderson, a law professor at Pepperdine University, said he fully expects the deal to close by Friday바카라 게임 웹사이트s deadline but didn바카라 게임 웹사이트t see much substance to Musk바카라 게임 웹사이트s video. "I don바카라 게임 웹사이트t see anything unusual about it, other than that he brought a sink,바카라 게임 웹사이트 he said.
Musk had been expected to visit Twitter this week and is expected to return again Friday if the deal is finalized, according to an internal memo cited in a report by Bloomberg 온라인 바카라 게임.
The Washington Post that Musk told prospective investors that he plans to cut three quarters of Twitter바카라 게임 웹사이트s 7,500 workers when he becomes owner of the company. The newspaper cited documents and unnamed sources familiar with the deliberation. Several hours after posting his sink video, Musk tweeted that he was meeting 바카라 게임 웹사이트a lot of today!바카라 게임 웹사이트 He gave no details.
One of Musk바카라 게임 웹사이트s biggest obstacles to closing the deal was keeping in place roughly six months ago.
A group of banks, including Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, signed on earlier this year to loan $12.5 billion of the money Musk needed to buy Twitter and take it private. Solid contracts with Musk bound the banks to the financing, although changes in the economy and debt markets since April have likely made the terms less attractive. Musk even said his investment group would be buying Twitter for more than it바카라 게임 웹사이트s worth.
Less clear is what's happening with the billions of dollars pledged to Musk by investors who would get ownership stakes in Twitter. Musk바카라 게임 웹사이트s original slate of equity partners included an array of partners ranging from the billionaire바카라 게임 웹사이트s tech world friends with like-minded ideas about Twitter바카라 게임 웹사이트s future, such as Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, to funds controlled by Middle Eastern royalty.
The more equity investors kick in for the deal, the less Musk has to pay on his own. Most of his wealth is tied up in shares of Tesla, the electric car company that he runs. Since April, he has sold more than $15 billion worth of Tesla stock, presumably to pay his share. More sales could be coming.
Musk, 51, has shared few concrete details about his plans for the social media platform. While he바카라 게임 웹사이트s touted free speech and derided spam bots since agreeing to buy the company in April, what he actually wants to do about either remains a mystery.
Technology analysts have speculated that Musk wants to use Twitter to help create an 바카라 게임 웹사이트everything app바카라 게임 웹사이트 similar to China바카라 게임 웹사이트s WeChat service, which allows users to do video chats, message, stream video, scan bar codes and make payments.
Musk바카라 게임 웹사이트s flirtation with buying Twitter . That바카라 게임 웹사이트s when Twitter said he contacted members of its board 바카라 게임 웹사이트 including co-founder Jack Dorsey 바카라 게임 웹사이트 and told them he was buying up shares and was interested in either joining the board, taking Twitter private or starting a competitor.
Then, on April 4, he revealed that he had become the company바카라 게임 웹사이트s largest shareholder after acquiring a 9% stake worth about $3 billion.
At first, Twitter offered Musk a seat on its board. But six days later, that Musk would not be joining the board after all. His bid to buy the company quickly followed.
Inside Twitter, Musk바카라 게임 웹사이트s offer was met with confusion and falling morale, especially after Musk publicly criticized one of Twitter바카라 게임 웹사이트s top lawyers involved in content-moderation decisions.
In July, Musk abruptly reversed course, announcing that he was abandoning his bid to buy Twitter. His stated reason: Twitter hadn바카라 게임 웹사이트t been straightforward about its problem with fake accounts he dubbed 바카라 게임 웹사이트spam bots.바카라 게임 웹사이트 Twitter sued, and two weeks before a 5-day trial was scheduled to begin, Musk changed his mind again, saying that he wanted to complete the deal after all.
