Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal says Musk will be ‘excellent leader’ for Twitter

Saudi Arabian investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said on Thursday billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk will be an “excellent leader” for Twitter, as he agreed to roll his $1.89 billion stake into the deal rather than cashing out.

Prince Alwaleed had on April 14 opposed the buyout bid, saying the price offered by Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, did not come close to the intrinsic value of Twitter given its growth prospects.

But on Thursday he said in a tweet it was great to connect with his “new friend” Musk.

“I believe you will be an excellent leader for Twitter to propel and maximise its great potential,” Alwaleed said in the tweet responding to Kingdom Holding and Musk.

“Kingdom Holding Company and I look forward to roll our ~$1.9 bn in the ‘new’ Twitter and join you on this exciting journey,” he added.

Billionaire Elon Musk has reached an agreement to acquire Twitter for approximately $44 billion, the company said on the 25^th of April 2022.

The outspoken Tesla CEO, the world’s wealthiest person, has said he wants to buy Twitter because he thinks it’s not living up to its potential as a platform for “free speech.” He says it needs to be transformed as a private company in order to build trust with users and do better at serving what he calls the “societal imperative” of free speech.

Twitter said it will become a privately held company after the sale is closed.

Elon Musk has raised $7.1 billion for his Twitter acquisition from investors that include Oracle founder Larry Ellison and Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, according to a securities filing Thursday.

Musk, chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, listed 18 investors who agreed to cash investments including Ellison ($1 billion), Sequoia Capital ($800 million) and Vy Capital ($700 million).

The Saudi prince, the head of the Kingdom Holding Company conglomerate, agreed to contribute about 35 million Twitter shares worth $1.9 billion so as to retain a stake in the company post-acquisition, the filing said.

The investments will reduce a $12.5 billion margin loan organized through Morgan Stanley and other banks to $6.25 billion, the filing said.

The new financing means less of Musk’s Tesla shares will be used as collateral under the margin loan.

Musk “may receive additional financing commitments to fund additional portions of the total Merger Consideration,” the filing said, adding that the Tesla chief is in talks with former Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey and others who may contribute shares to maintain an equity stake.

The Twitter takeover is expected to close later in 2022.

CNBC reported that upon completion of the deal, Musk is expected to serve as temporary CEO of Twitter for a few months, the network said, citing unnamed sources.