Elon Musk claims he has financing to buy Twitter

Billionaire businessman Elon Musk on Thursday announced that he had secured $46.5 billion (€42.8 billion) in financing that could be used to launch a hostile takeover of the social media company Twitter.

In documents filed with US securities regulators, Musk said he was exploring the possibility of purchasing Twitter outright.

Thursday's filing claimed that "entities related to [Musk] have received commitment letters committing to provide an aggregate of approximately $46.5 billion."

The letter further stated that Musk is "exploring whether to commence a tender offer ... but has not determined whether to do so at this time."

Musk first floated the plan to buy Twitter for the sum of $43 billion, or $54.20 per share, last week.

Should he pursue the plan, Musk would offer his so-called tender bid directly to shareholders rather than doing so through the company's board of directors.

Musk, Twitter's second-largest shareholder, says he would put up $21 billion of his own cash, as well as a further $12.5 billion in margin loans. His Thursday filing says another $13 billion would come through debt financing from Morgan Stanley, a bank.

After the controversial businessman announced his desire to privatize the social media company in order to unleash its "extraordinary potential" and ensure free speech, Twitter's board of directors quickly adopted a "poison pill" defense to protect the company from his hostile takeover bid. 

js/nm (AFP, AP, Reuters)