Elon Musk said last night he was prepared to invest up to US$15bn of his own cash in his takeover of Twitter as attention switched to how he will fund his US$43bn approach to the social media giant.
Twitter’s board meets on Thursday to discuss the approach, after which it will give a formal response.
Musk, who is the world's richest man with an estimated fortune of US$259bn, already owns a 9.2% stake and said he is prepared to make his bid hostile if the Twitter board rejects his offer of US$54.20 per share.
Analysts have been predicting Musk’s offer will be rejected on the basis it undervalues the social media group.
Today, Twitter’s shares were changing hands at US$45.58, off more than 1.3%. and well below Musk's offer.
A story in the New York Post suggested Musk plans a tender offer for shares in Twitter with Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) reportedly hired to arrange a US$10bn debt facility to boost his firepower even further.
Private equity firms are also said to have approached Musk about possibly providing finance and joining in with an offer, though alternative reports suggested soundings had been made to the Twitter board about possible rival deals.
None of these were confirmed, though private equity firm Apollo Capital told Reuters it is considering ways it can provide financing to any deal and is open to working with Musk or any other bidder.