Twitter plans “poison pill” if Musk tries takeover

The social media giant’s board of directors will make defensive moves if Elon Musk tries to increase his stake in Twitter from 9 percent to 15 percent or more. The billionaire and CEO of Tesla announced Thursday he wants to buy the publicly traded company outright for $43 billion. Musk wants to take Twitter private and reform its censorship practices, a move he says would protect free speech.

How would Twitter’s plan work? It would allow existing Twitter shareholders (except Musk) to buy additional shares at a discount, thereby diluting Musk’s stake in the company and making it harder for him to gain support for his acquisition from a majority of shareholders. The plan is set to expire next year.

Dig deeper: Read Jerry Bowyer’s column for WORLD Opinions about how Musk could transform Twitter.