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Following reports over the weekend that Thoma Bravo and several other investors had shown an interest in a bid for Twitter after Elon Musk announced his hopes to take it private, WSJ reported Monday that PE giant Apollo has also held discussion about potentially backing a bid for the company.
It’s not clear whether the firm is leaning toward backing Elon Musk’s tender offer, or perhaps another bid for the social media company. WSJ said Apollo’s involvement could entail equity or debt.
Twitter shares moved even higher in after-hours trading after surging during Monday’s session on news of Apollo’s interest, as the PE juggernaut’s involvement now virtually guarantees that a deal will take place, since the Board of Directors can’t say no to everyone.
Co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey (who was pushed out by the board) has argued that Twitter’s board has been a major drag for the company, and others have pointed out that board members own few, if any, shares of the company.
But employees, Democrats and the MSM have had a meltdown over the prospect that Musk could gain control and roll back restrictions on ‘hate speech’ and ‘harassment’, which Musk has said he regards as undue censorship.
Apollo is also reportedly looking into whether there might be synergies between Twitter and Yahoo Finance, which it bought last year.
Twitter is expected to rebuff Musk’s offer in the coming days, after unleashing a poison pill to ward off a significant stake being taken by an unwanted acquirer, (after Musk teased in a tweet over the weekend that he might pursue a tender offer – a hostile takeover in which a buyer appeals directly to shareholders).
Bottom line: bottom line: Apollo could LBO twitter itself, or just give Musk equity or debt to fund the purchase.