NEW YORK — Twitter's board has recommended unanimously that shareholders approve the proposed $44 billion sale of the company to billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday.
Musk reiterated his desire to move forward with the acquisition last week during a virtual meeting with Twitter employees, though shares of Twitter remain far below his offering price, signaling considerable doubt that it will happen.
On Tuesday at the Qatar Economic Forum in an interview with Bloomberg, Musk listed the approval of the deal by shareholders as one of several “unresolved matters” related to the Twitter deal.
Shares of Twitter Inc. were essentially flat just before the opening bell Tuesday and far short of the $54.20 per-share that Musk has offered to pay for each. The company's stock last reached that level on April 5 when it offered Musk a seat on the board before he had offered to buy all of Twitter.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission detailing on Tuesday detailing a litter to investors, Twitter's board of directors said that it “unanimously recommends that you vote (for) the adoption of the merger agreement." If the deal were to close now, investors in the company would pocket a profit of $15.22 for each share they own.
According to multiple news reports, while meeting with Twitter employees Musk also addressed possible layoffs at the company, saying that, right now, “costs exceed revenue. That’s not a great situation.”
He also touched on growth, saying he'd like to see Twitter reach a billion users — roughly four times its current user base ) and anonymity, where he earlier created a stir when he said he wants to “verify all humans” on the service. At the meeting, he clarified that this does not mean he wants to have everyone on Twitter use their real names, like on Facebook, since pseudonyms can allow people to express their political views freely, according to The New York Times.