Elon Musk might get a major discount on his $44 billion Twitter buyout

Elon Musk's "best and final offer" for Twitter could be renegotiated to favor the Tesla CEO, who could end up getting a discount on the price of the buyout. Hindenberg Research, an investment firm that specializes in short selling, thinks that Musk is in complete control of the turn of events at Twitter now, Money Control reported.

When Musk formally put forward his proposal to acquire the social media platform last month, the Board was hesitant and pushed for a Rights Plan to prevent a hostile takeover. The move would put Musk on the backfoot while providing the Board some time to look for alternate bids. The board likely approved the deal quickly due to the absence of any competitive bids; and now it appears Musk holds all the cards to the agreement. 

What has weakened Twitter's position in the market?

On its website, Hindenburg Research has listed the series of developments that have taken place since Musk's offer that has made Twitter's position weaker. Amidst tightening economic policy from the US Federal Reserve, the tech-heavy Nasdaq has dropped over 17 percent. Should Musk walk away from the deal, the Twitter stock that is currently around $48 could slide down to $31, the post said. 

Days after accepting Musk's offer, Twitter released its quarterly results which were not only disappointing but also acknowledged that its user base was overstated by about two million users. In his offer, Musk had stated that should the board reject his offer, he would offload his close stake in the company, which would slide the company valuation further. 

If the deal were not to go through, Musk could get away from it all, paying just one billion in a break-up fee, which is peanuts for the richest person on the planet. 

Hindenburg's Twitter account also posted this, to which none other than Elon Musk himself replied. 

Interesting. Don’t forget to look on the bright side of life sometimes!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2022

Musk's bright side reference is likely to the fact that if Twitter were priced lower at the end of the deal, he would not have to raise as much money. Musk's Twitter buyout has already spooked Tesla investors, who think the major financing will come from Musk offloading Tesla stock. 

Analysts also told Money Control that they expected the Twitter deal to close at Musk's offer price unless Musk had a change of heart. 

We will have to wait a bit longer to see how this pans out. Clearly, the drama of Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter continues.