Elon Musk says his takeover of Twitter is 'on hold.'

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23. Elon Musk tweeted that Twitter deal is temporarily on hold

It is clear that the margin loan structure would not work. This structure exposed both Twitter and Tesla. The new financing is not cheap https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-12/musk-seeks-to-scrap-tesla-margin-loan-with-new-twitter-funding

The preferred equity may have a 20-year maturity and include a feature allowing interest to be paid in kind at a rate of 14%, the people said. That interest rate would be increased by 75 basis points in the seventh, eight and ninth year, they added. The financing may alternatively be structured with a 10% interest rate and warrants, one of the people said.

See also https://www.zerohedge.com/political/musk-looking-scrap-tesla-margin-loan-secure-new-twitter-funding

According to the report, the preferred equity may have a 20 year maturity, as well as a feature which would allow interest to be paid in kind at 14%. The rate would be raised by 75 basis points in the 7th, 8th and 9th year. Alternatively, the financing may be structured with a 10% interest rate plus warrants.

Musk has announced that this deal is on hold.

Link to tweet

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/05/13/musk-twitter-bid/

Tesla has lost $400 billion in market value since Musk’s interest in Twitter became public in early April, driving a wedge in his acquisition plans at a time when he has committed $21 billion of his wealth to finance the purchase. Musk had planned to buy Twitter with a combination of loans and equity commitments, leveraging into the deal much of his stake in the world’s most valuable automaker — from which he derives most of his wealth.

Link to tweet

Musk’s net worth, which makes him the world’s richest man, has fallen by around $50 billion in recent weeks, according to Forbes’ real-time wealth index. And Tesla stock has shed nearly 30 percent of its value in just the past month.,,,,

Musk has leveraged much of his Tesla stock as collateral for his loans, making the recent economic downturn a particular issue for his bid. Tesla has warned of the risks it faces because of the amount of Tesla stock Musk has put down as collateral. Tesla stocks were trading at under $730 on Thursday, well below the more than $1,100 mark from early April. A drop by several hundred more dollars could trigger requirements that would force Musk to sell some shares, analysts said.

At one point last year, he had put down more than half of his shares as collateral, according to financial filings. Because the Twitter bid would only add to that percentage, Musk has faced pressure to reduce his equity commitment, according to people with knowledge of the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

It will be interesting to see of Musk can pull off this deal. It is clear that this deal will not be financed based on margin loans using Tesla stock