Elon Musk used an upside-down smile emoji on Saturday in response to a tweet he sent over four years ago about how much it would cost to buy Twitter Inc.
Elon Musk used an upside-down smile emoji on Saturday in response to a tweet he sent over four years ago about how much it would cost to buy Twitter Inc.
The CEO of Tesla Inc., which earlier this week launched a $43 billion hostile bid for the social media company, was commenting on a December 2017 tweet in which he expressed his admiration for Twitter and asked how much it costs to buy. .
The “upside-down smile” emoji is used as an indication of frustration or confused resignation, according to emojipedia. Twitter on Friday adopted a clause called the “poison pill” in an attempt to thwart the Musk takeover bid.
Twitter brings JPMorgan as advisor alongside Goldman
(Bloomberg) Twitter Inc. hired a second investment bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co., to help it respond to Elon Musk’s hostile offer, according to people familiar with the matter.
The largest US bank recently began work to assist Twitter in negotiations with potential buyers, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private.
Representatives for Twitter and JPMorgan declined to comment.
In addition to Musk’s offer, Twitter has garnered interest from other parties, including tech-focused private equity firm Thoma Bravo, according to one of the people familiar with it. The New York Post reported Thoma Bravo’s interest on Thursday.
A representative for Thoma Bravo declined to comment.
By bringing in JPMorgan, Twitter is working with a bank that isn’t afraid to argue with Musk. JPMorgan and Tesla Inc., Musk’s electric vehicle company, are involved in lawsuits.
They are suing each other over stock transactions, some linked to Musk’s 2018 tweet that he had secured funding to take Tesla private, an effort that was abandoned weeks later. Both sides are due to appear in court next week.
JPMorgan is the latest Wall Street heavyweight to become involved in Musk’s bid to buy Twitter and joins Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to help deal with the 50-year-old billionaire. Morgan Stanley is working with Musk.
Losing
JPMorgan’s involvement is also a blow to luxury investment banks, which increasingly compete for market share against the big banks.
Twitter was advised by consulting firm Allen & Co. in 2020, when the company was feuding with activist investor Elliott Investment Management, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
This time around, no boutique investment banks appear to be involved, although firms tend to add more advisers as transactions drag on.
Goldman, which has historically been close to Musk, including being the lead bank in the failed 2018 attempt to take Tesla private, was conflicted about advising the billionaire due to his long-standing relationship with Twitter.
Twitter adopted the so-called poison pill on Friday, a move to help protect it from Musk acquiring more of the company. The change could give the board more time to decide how to proceed.