Musk Targets Board Blocking Twitter Acquisition: "Not Aligned with Shareholders' Interests"

"Twitter Board of Directors Holds Almost No Shares"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] As the board of directors of the U.S. social media company Twitter moves to block Tesla CEO Elon Musk's hostile takeover attempt, Musk fired back, saying, "The board's interests do not align with those of the shareholders."

On the 16th (local time), Musk stated on Twitter, "Since Twitter founder Jack Dorsey left the company, the board as a whole owns very little of the company's stock." This comment came in response to a Twitter user's question suggesting that the Twitter board's activation of a 'poison pill' strategy to defend management rights might constitute a breach of duty against shareholder interests.

Earlier on the 13th, he proposed to buy all Twitter shares at $54.20 per share and revealed plans to take the social media company private to protect freedom of expression.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

In response, Twitter's board decided to implement a poison pill to block Musk's takeover attempt. A poison pill is a mechanism where a company targeted by a hostile M&A issues a large number of new shares or grants existing shareholders (excluding the hostile party) call options to purchase new shares at a price significantly below market value. This allows existing shareholders to increase their stakes relatively cheaply to defend management rights, making it difficult for the hostile party to secure a controlling interest.

David Sacks, co-founder of venture capital firm Craft Ventures, posted, "If the game is fair, Musk will buy Twitter. But if the game is rigged, there will be some reason he cannot buy Twitter," to which Musk responded with an agreeing comment.

The day before, Musk also conducted an online poll asking for opinions on taking Twitter private at $54.20 per share, which saw participation from about 2.859 million people, with 83.5% expressing support.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.