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.”
A new report found that business travel is becoming more expensive.
X Corp. CEO Linda Yaccarino told CNBC that she has "autonomy" under Elon Musk, adding that she wants advertisers to be comfortable to return.
Verizon Wireless said it plans to raise the prices of some of its plans.
Food service workers in Las Vegas are set to take to the Strip Thursday as they demand higher pay and better benefits.
GM President Mark Reuss joined Cheddar News to discuss the company's new Cadillac Escalade electric vehicle and talked about how to make affordable EVs for the general public. "That's who we are as a company -- we will offer vehicles for everybody and every different income level," he said.
Lauren Fix, automotive expert with 'The Car Coach,' spoke with Cheddar News to provide tips and advantages on buying a used vehicle. "You let somebody else take the depreciation, which is probably one of the best things ... you then move in at a two- or three-year-old vehicle that maybe was leased, and you can get some great values," she said.
Disney said it's increasing prices for its ad-free streaming services as the company is losing subscribers and also announced it planned to crack down on password-sharing. Cheddar News' Michelle Castillo broke down Disney's moves.
Lawrence Sprung, a certified financial planner and author of 'Financial Planning Made Personal' shares advice about how to teach kids to use credit wisely.
Disney is cracking down on password sharing for Disney+ users.
Tapestry, the parent company of luxury handbag Coach and Kate Spade, agreed to buy Capri Holdings, the owner of fashion brands including Michael Kors, Versace and Jimmy Choo.
