According to sources familiar with the situation, private equity firms such as Blackstone Inc. and Vista Equity Partners have ruled out funding Elon Musk’s takeover offer for Twitter Inc.
According to the people, Brookfield Asset Management has decided not to backup Musk’s unsolicited US$43 billion bid because the topic isn’t public. According to the sources, Vista and Blackstone are not interested in participating in any potential bid for Twitter from Musk or any other party at this time.
To be sure, Musk has access to a variety of alternative funding options, according to one source. Blackstone, Vista Equity, and Brookfield did not respond to requests for comment.
Some of the greatest names in private equity are hesitant to invest in Musk’s Twitter bid, highlighting the challenges he has in gaining control of the social media business. He must also persuade the company’s board of directors, in addition to putting together the finance. Twitter has already launched a poison pill defense in response to Musk’s effort to take the firm private for US$54.20 per share.
There are other factors to consider. The acquisition, valued at $43 billion, would be one of the largest leveraged buyouts ever, raising concerns about whether it would be financially viable for any potential backers. There’s also Musk himself, who is a wild card.
Even so, he might not be completely independent. Bloomberg News reported this week that Apollo Global Management Inc. is interested in engaging in an offer for Twitter in the form of loan or preferred shares. According to Bloomberg, Twitter has also received acquisition interest from other companies, including Thoma Bravo, a technology-focused private equity group.
According to the Financial Times, Blackstone, Vista, and Brookfield were not interested in assisting Musk.
Blackstone Inc., situated in New York City, is an alternative investment management firm. Blackstone changed its status from a publicly traded partnership to a C-type corporation in 2019. In the previous three decades, Blackstone’s private equity division has been one of the most active investors in leveraged buyouts, while its real estate company has actively acquired commercial real estate. The company’s total assets under management were estimated to be at US$880 billion in 2021.
Vista Equity Partners is a venture capital firm based in the United States that invests in software, data, and technology-enabled startups. Misys, Ping Identity, and Marketo are among the hundreds of firms in which Vista has invested.
With US$688 billion in assets under management in 2021, Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is a Canadian multinational company that is one of the world’s largest alternative investment management companies.
