A new filing clears the way for major Twitter shareholder Elon Musk to play both an inside game and an outside one as he pursues whatever plan he has in mind for the Social media giant.
Musk, CEO of Space X and Tesla, bought a huge share of Twitter but turned down a seat on Twitterās board.
In addition, Musk has filed a new Securities and Exchange Commission document that takes off just about all restrains upon the wild card investor, according to The Verge.
Muskās initial form classified him as a āpassiveā investor. No more.
Also gone is language that would have prevented Musk from buying more than 14.9 percent of Twitterās stock.
The new document says Musk āmay engage in discussions with the Board and/or members of the Issuerās management teamĀ concerning, including, without limitation, potential business combinations and strategic alternatives, the business, operations, capital structure, governance, management, strategy of the Issuer and other matters concerning the Issuer.ā
Musk nowĀ āmay express his views to the Board and/or members of the Issuerās management team and/or the public through Social media or other channelsĀ with respect to the Issuerās business, products and service offerings,ā according to his updated filing.
So what does that mean? The answer remains unknown.
In speaking of Musk, Twitter CEO Parag AgrawalĀ told employees Sunday night that āwe will remain open to his input.ā
However, it remains unclear what that input might be.
āThis is not typical activism or, frankly, anything like activism that weāve seen before,ā said Ele Klein, co-chair of the global Shareholder Activism Group at the law firm Schulte Roth & Zabel, according to The New York Times. āElon Musk doesnāt do things that people have seen before.ā
āNormally an activist is very clear in their intentions,ā said Rich Greenfield, an analyst at LightShed Ventures, a venture capital investment fund.
But āwe donāt know what Elon Muskās true motivation is. Is this Elon having fun? Is this Elon trying to effect change? Is this Elon trying to drive the stock higher?ā
MuskāsĀ decision does leave the door open for him to pursue a hostile takeover, if he wishes.
āWithout that limit, Musk could now ā in theory ā pursue a hostile takeover by buying the company outright. Thatās a move his extraordinary wealth comfortably enables him to do,ā FortuneĀ reported.
Analysts are saying Musk has positioned himself perfectly for a takeover, and they are conjecturing this is exactlyĀ what he plans.
āThis now goes from a Cinderella story with Musk joining the Twitter board to likely a Game of Thrones battle between Musk and Twitter,ā said Dan Ives, a Wedbush analyst who covers Tesla,Ā ForbesĀ reported.
āTwitter is more vulnerable than some of its internet peers to outside pressure because its founders donāt have special voting control,ā Justin Post, director of equity research at Bank of America Securities, wrote after Musk revealed his stake in the platform, Fortune reported.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
