Musk secures funding for Twitter takeover plan

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk has secured two debt commitment letters from Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, in which the bank commits to offering a series of loans worth $25.5bn. Musk himself will cover the remaining $21bn.

Musk made the $54.20 a share takeover offer for Twitter on 14 April, after taking a 9.2% stake in the company in March.

Last week, it emerged that Twitter’s board of directors had issued a new "shareholder rights plan" to block Musk’s proposed takeover. The plan, known as a "poison pill", allows investors to buy additional shares of the company’s stock at a discount, thus diluting the value of each share amid concerns about a hostile takeover.

If any shareholder accumulates a 15% stake in Twitter in a purchase not approved by the board of directors, other shareholders would get the right to buy additional shares at a discount, diluting Musk’s recently-acquired 9.2% stake.

Twitter said: "The rights plan will reduce the likelihood that any entity, person or group gains control of Twitter through open market accumulation without paying all shareholders an appropriate control premium or without providing the board sufficient time to make informed judgments and take actions that are in the best interests of shareholders.

"The rights plan does not prevent the board from engaging with parties or accepting an acquisition proposal if the board believes that it is in the best interests of Twitter and its shareholders."