How Twitter’s Board Went From Fighting Elon Musk to Accepting Him

JPMorgan declined to comment. Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Simpson Thacher didn’t immediately have comments.

Mr. Musk was undeterred. His bankers began trying to corral tens of billions of dollars in financing for a Twitter deal. His advisers presented prospective lenders with a few pages vaguely outlining Mr. Musk’s goals. The billionaire also talked directly with banks, a person with knowledge of the calls said.

That helped persuade Citigroup, Bank of America, BNP Paribas and other banks to put their money in. Despite a lack of details about Mr. Musk’s plans, lenders were reassured in part by the entrepreneur’s past successes and wealth, the person said.

Mr. Musk also campaigned on Twitter for a deal. He hinted that he would take his proposal directly to shareholders in a so-called tender offer if the company’s board did not accept his bid. On April 16, he tweeted, “Love me tender.” Three days later, he tweeted “____ is the Night,” a reference to the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, “Tender Is the Night.”

Twitter’s board fractured. On April 16, Jack Dorsey, a Twitter founder who stepped down as chief executive in November and is a board member, tweeted that the board had been the “consistent dysfunction of the company.” When asked by a Twitter user whether he was allowed to say that, Mr. Dorsey responded, “no.”

Mr. Dorsey’s criticism rankled other board members and Twitter executives, said two people who worked on the deal. Mr. Taylor asked Mr. Dorsey to stop tweeting negatively, one person said. Mr. Dorsey continued posting references to Twitter’s board.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/30/technology/twitter-board-elon-musk.html