Elon Musk says he’s secured the funding to buy Twitter

• Elon Musk says he’s secured several financing commitments totaling $46.5 billion for a Twitter takeover. 
• In a regulatory filing, Musk also said Twitter has yet to respond to his proposal for a buyout.
• It’s the latest development in an ongoing saga as Musk seeks to gain control of the social network.

Elon Musk might have what he needs to pull off a buyout of one of the largest social media companies on the planet.

In a regulatory filing published Thursday, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO said that he has agreements from banks and other entities “committing to provide an aggregate of approximately $46.5 billion” in financing for a potential tender offer to buy Twitter. 

In other words, he’s ready to make his pitch directly to shareholders, which would effectively cut out Twitter’s board and management. 

It’s the latest development in Musk’s effort to take control of Twitter after he first disclosed a roughly 10% equity stake earlier in April before offering to buy the company outright for $54.20 per share. 

In Thursday’s filing, Musk said the company had not yet responded to that offer and that he remains “prepared to begin such negotiations immediately.” 

Musk’s efforts to take a larger stake in Twitter have been complicated by a “poison pill” defense exacted by the company’s directors after Musk opted not to join the company’s board as originally announced. The technique makes a company a less attractive acquisition target by diluting the value of shares as an individual acquires more than a certain equity threshold.

Musk doesn’t appear to be swayed. He has a net worth of $255 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him the richest man in the world. But most of that wealth exists as equity in his various corporate ventures, leaving him with relatively little cash for things like corporate buyouts. 

Thursday’s filing notes the institutional commitments are split between equity and debt financing agreements from Morgan Stanley and others. The buyout firm Apollo Global has also considered taking part in Musk’s bid for Twitter, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday, but the firm is not mentioned in the filing.  

On Twitter, fittingly, Musk has been vocal about social media platforms appearing to stifle free speech — a rallying cry often heard from conservatives. His offer to buy the company added fuel to the culture war, with Republican figures like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis lambasting the company’s board for resisting the buyout over ideological reasons.

“Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy,” Musk said in March. “Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?”