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The biggest news in the investing world this week was the $43 billion or $54.20 per share bid for Twitter (TWTR) by Elon Musk. Given below are a series of perspectives on this potential deal, including the ex-CEO of Reddit, the (self proclaimed) first employee of Twitter, Mark Cuban and my own thoughts. The Board of Directors at Twitter decided to fend off this hostile acquisition by adopting a poison pill provision.
I’ve now been asked multiple times for my take on Elon’s offer for Twitter.
So fine, this is what I think about that. I will assume the takeover succeeds, and he takes Twitter private. (I have little knowledge/insight into how actual takeover battles work or play out) (long 🧵) — Yishan (@yishan) April 15, 2022
The company has always been more important to its users and society than it has been a cash cow. Today it’s profitable, but that’s almost an accident. Twitter is a ‘public good’ sustained by a private company with stock that anybody can buy.
— rabble (@rabble) April 15, 2022
Every major tech company , Google, fb, et al is on the phone with their anti trust lawyers asking if they can buy Twitter and get it approved. And Twitter is on the phone with their lawyers asking which can be their white knight. Gonna be interesting https://t.co/khCVPzuGiM
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) April 14, 2022
The wide spread between where Twitter is trading right now (just shy of $46) and @elonmusk‘s $54.20 all cash offer indicates the market doesn’t think the board will accept the offer when they meet at 10 AM PST today. $TWTR
— Asif Suria (@AsifSuria) April 14, 2022
Twitter doesn’t want to let Elon win.
They’re going to use the “Poison Pill” to stop him. You’re going to hear a lot about this in the coming days … Here’s what it is and why it matters: — Rohun ⛳️ (@RohunJauhar) April 15, 2022
The other big news was the release of Q1 2022 results by a large number of banks, which reported a mixed bag of results. The market was not enthused by the performance of JPMorgan Chase (JPM) in Q1 and by Wells Fargo (WFC) indicating they plan to scale back their stock repurchase program on account of inflationary pressures.
JPMorgan reported a fall in first-quarter earnings, hurt by a slowdown in dealmaking brought on by the Ukraine conflict and a decline in trading revenue https://t.co/9ulxQIcv47 $JPM
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 13, 2022
$WFC – Wells Fargo stock falls after Q1 earnings call discusses reduced stock buybacks https://t.co/m8oUwaVCHO
— Breaking News (@MarketCurrents) April 14, 2022
Bank earnings better than feared. $WFC beats. $USB beats. $C beats. $GS beats. $MS beats. $ALLY beats. $STT beats. $PNC beats. $TSM beats, guides higher. $CMBM guides lower. $UNH beats.
— Contrahour (@Contrahour) April 14, 2022
Good Morning from #Germany where #inflation pressure intensifies. Selling prices in wholesale trade rose by 22.6% YoY. This was the highest annual rate of change since the beginning of the calculation of the wholesale price indices in 1962. pic.twitter.com/92ojyIdyFD
— Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) April 12, 2022
Sri Lankan officials on Tuesday said that the crisis-hit country will temporarily suspend foreign debt payments to avoid a hard default, with its limited foreign reserves required for imports of essential items such as fuel.
— Peter Hoskins (@PeterHoskinsTV) April 12, 2022
This US SPR release continues to give me heartburn. The release is not on loan. SPR is at the lowest since 2002, sitting at 564.58M barrels. Because this is not a loan, this means that it will take that much longer to replenish stocks as oil companies do not have to replace it.
— Tracy (𝕮𝖍𝖎) (@chigrl) April 11, 2022
3 dead-simple steps to edit your writing in 10 minutes or less (that you’ll actually use):
— Dickie Bush 🚢 (@dickiebush) April 9, 2022
Until 2019, I’d spent $0 on studio lighting for my home office. 😅
Since then, I’ve spent $4k on gear, courses, and expert advice. The result ➡️ premium prices for my online courses. Here’ are the top 5 studio lighting tips I learned, for free (pics included). 🧵 pic.twitter.com/ddOdsdWwwH — Dr. Melvin Varghese 🐝 (@mvarghese5) January 31, 2022
New market for failing cruise lines:
Retirement homes on the sea!https://t.co/COnAgwFNEG — PPE (@planert41) April 14, 2022
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE is officially the highest rated film of the decade on @RottenTomatoes with an average rating of 8.8
It is currently tied with the only other film this decade that has this score: Best Picture winner NOMADLAND pic.twitter.com/owLD32avvw — Diego Andaluz (@thediegoandaluz) April 9, 2022
Voluntary Disclosure: I hold a long position in Twitter (TWTR).