The Twitter icon is displayed on a mobile phone in Philadelphia on April 26, 2017. Twitter said in a statement Friday, April 15, 2022, that its board of directors has unanimously adopted a “poison pill” defense in response to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s proposal to buy the company and take it private. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
By Matt O'Brien
Twitter said Friday that its board of directors has unanimously adopted a “poison pill” defense in response to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s proposal to buy the company and take it private.
Twitter said the move, formally called a “limited duration shareholder rights plan," aims to enable its investors to “realize the full value of their investment” by reducing the likelihood that any one person can gain control of the company without either paying shareholders a premium or giving the board more time. Poison pills are often used to defend against hostile takeovers.
Twitter’s plan would take effect if Musk’s roughly 9% stake grows to 15% or more. Even then, Musk could still take over the company with a proxy fight by voting out the current directors. Twitter said the plan doesn’t prevent the board from engaging with parties or accepting an acquisition proposal if it’s in the company’s “best interests.”
Twitter had revealed in a securities filing Thursday that Musk offered to buy the company outright for more than $43 billion, saying the social media platform “needs to be transformed as a private company” in order to build trust with its users.
“I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy,” Musk said in the filing. “I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form.”
Later on Thursday, during an onstage interview at the TED 2022 conference, he went even broader: “Having a public platform that is maximally trusted and broadly inclusive is extremely important to the future of civilization.”
Consumers continue to navigate through rising costs at the register, whether it be at the grocery or department store. Beverly Harzog, personal finance and credit card expert with U.S. News & World Report, joined Cheddar News to provide tips on how to get the best deals during your shopping spree.
Delta Airlines responded to a class-action lawsuit that said the company inaccurately claimed to be the world's first "carbon-neutral company, saying it was "without merit."
Maurits Pots, founder and CEO of Tema ETFS, joined Cheddar News to discuss what market trends to look out for with the debt ceiling vote in the backdrop of investors' minds.
Used car prices have risen dramatically recently and continue to remain at a high rate. Cheddar News spoke with some customers and a salesman to get their take.
The U.S. government’s auto safety agency plans to require that all new passenger cars and light trucks include potentially life-saving automatic emergency braking and meet stricter safety standards within three years.
A judge ruled against Boeing and said families of passengers who died in the 737 Max crash in Ethiopia can seek damages for the pain and suffering felt by the victims shortly before the accident.
Used car prices are skyrocketing, with some costing as much as a brand new car. Cheddar News reporter Ashley Mastronardi has more on what's behind rising prices for pre-owned vehicles and some tips for getting the best bang for your buck.
