Elon Musk has reportedly told investors he plans to take Twitter public again in three years, shortly after reaching a deal with the company’s board to take it private, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO is reported to have reached out to potential investors to discuss staging an Initial Public Offering for the company within three years of completing his acquisition of Twitter.
Musk, in a public dispute with the Twitter Board of Directors, recently struck a deal to buy back 100 percent of the company at $54.20 a share, an 18 percent premium above the stock price at the time of his offer.
At present, the deal is valued at roughly $44 billion and is being financed with the aid of Morgan Stanley, though Musk will have complete control of the company. The deal is expected to proceed through all legal and regulatory requirements by November.
Musk’s intention for beginning these discussions is to secure additional financing for the deal, to soften the acquisition’s impact on his own net worth, the Journal reported. The present deal with Twitter’s terms permit new parties to join financing of Musk’s deal. Re-taking the company public in three years would enable additional parties to make gains with a higher, future stock price.
Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm, is reported to be in negotiations with Musk on joining the deal.
At present, Musk, the world’s richest man, initially planned to secure $21 billion against his equity in Tesla, which makes up the majority of his wealth. Musk, over the last week, sold $8.5 billion dollars of Tesla stock, which caused a significant drop in its stock price.