Elon Musk says he has ‘Plan B’ if Twitter board rejects $43bn offer

Elon Musk, world’s richest person and Twitter’s largest individual shareholder, has said he has a Plan B in the event that the board rejects his bid to take over the social media company at a $43 billion valuation.

“You’ve said that you won’t go higher. Is there a plan B?” asked Chris Anderson, the head curator of the TED conference, during an interview with Musk at the organisation’s annual summit on Thursday.

“There is,” Musk replied. ”I think we would like to hear a little bit about Plan B,” Anderson pressed.

“For another time, I think,” Musk said.

In his letter to Twitter’s board less than a day earlier, Musk said his bid of $54.20 was his “best and final” offer.

“I am not playing the back-and-forth game,” he added. “I have moved straight to the end.”

Earlier in the conversation, Musk acknowledged a possibility that he may not be able to acquire the company, but said he could “technically” afford it.

“I have sufficient assets,” he said.

With $3.3 billion of Twitter shares already in hand, Musk would need nearly $40 billion in cash to complete the deal on his own. Musk told Anderson that he hoped to bring along as many existing shareholders as are allowable under that law.

Musk is estimated to have cash accounts currently worth $2.95 billion, according to Bloomberg estimates

Despite his vast wealth, much of Musk’s assets are not liquid. He is known to pledge his Tesla shares as collateral for a loan, capped at 25 per cent of his stake’s total value. That arrangement could put him in the neighbourhood of $40 billion if he chooses to maximise that option.

Twitter’s shares on Thursday traded well below Musk’s $54.20 offer price. Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a major Twitter shareholder, said Musk’s offer doesn’t come “close to the intrinsic value” of the company “given its growth prospects”.