Elon Musk told potential inventors he could return Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) to public ownership after several years, just a few weeks after he agreed to buy the social media giant for $44 billion and take it private.
According to the reports, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) boss said he considers launching a Twitter initial public offering in just three years of acquiring it. The buyout deal is expected to close later this year, subject to shareholder and regulator approval.
Musk has been negotiating with investment firms to help him lower the $21 billion he planned to pour to fund the deal, with the rest of the deal financing expected to come from loans. One of the private equity firms that participated in the talks is Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO).
Private-equity firms are known for taking companies private before returning them to public ownership after several years. There are indications that Musk could follow a similar strategy with Twitter, which could help assure potential investors about his commitment to improving the social media company’s business operation and profitability before taking it public again.
Musk’s exact intentions for Twitter still remain unclear apart from his plans to make the company less censorious in content moderation.
By Senad Karaahmetovic