Hostile and Friendly Takeovers on the Rise Again in a Reinvigorated M&A Market - Seite 3

There are still no definitive details on an offer, despite Bloomberg attributing its report to people familiar with the matter. Both the Benettons and Blackstone have so far declined to comment.

After being initially announced to join its Board of Directors, Twitter Inc. (NYSE:TWTR) CEO Parag Agrawal made a weekend statement that Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk would not be a Twitter Director after all.

"We announced on Tuesday that Elon would be appointed to the Board contingent on a background check and formal acceptance," tweeted Agrawal. "Elon's appointment to the board was to become officially effective 4/9, but Elon shared that same morning that he will no longer be joining the board. I believe this is for the best. We have and will always value input from our shareholders whether they are on our Board or not. Elon is our biggest shareholder and we will remain open to his input."

The reverse of direction immediately sparked speculation that Musk now has a gateway (and the resources) to increase upon his 9.2% ownership to gain the remaining 90.8%. By refusing the Director post, Musk avoided a maximum ownership cap of 14.9%.

Through what's becoming a trademark coyness, Musk retweeted a list of Twitter's top 10 accounts by follower counts that same morning, adding "Most of these 'top' accounts tweet rarely and post very little content. Is Twitter dying?"

"Twitter is more vulnerable than some of its internet peers to outside pressure because its founders don't have special voting control," wrote Justin Post, Director of Equity Research at Bank of America Securities in a note published after Musk revealed his stake in the platform.

In the meantime, Tesla itself announced its plans to transform Kane's Furniture liquidation center in Florida into one of the most poverty-stricken neighborhoods in the country into a state-of-the-art delivery and repair center.

According to Tesla's application documents the company has plans for the 4.21-acre site that align with the goals of the Community Redevelopment Area in targeting reinvestment as it will also enhance the site with structural improvements and the appearance of the property. Tesla plans to repaint the building, install a new roof and new signage, and eliminate the majority of the truck loading doors from the front of the building.