The major crypto exchange Binance is backing Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter with a USD 500m investment, a public filing showed. Meanwhile, Musk might also serve as temporary CEO of Twitter once the takeover is done. The investment from Binance is among the largest on a list of commitments from several large investors for the deal.
Other notable participants included asset manager Fidelity, with a USD 316m investment, venture firm Sequoia Capital with USD 800m, and USD 1bn from Larry Ellison, a Tesla board member and co-founder of software firm Oracle. The news of the investments comes as CNBC cited unnamed sources as saying that Musk is expected to serve as a temporary CEO of Twitter “for a few months” after the takeover has been completed.
Saudi price back on board:
In addition to the notable investors above, the filing also shows that Musk has managed to get Saudi prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, chairman of the Saudi Arabian investment conglomerate Kingdom Holding Company, to roll over his current investment. The Saudi prince had previously rejected Musk’s offer, saying it does not represent “the intrinsic value of Twitter given its growth prospects.”
Commenting on the news on Twitter, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao called his company’s investment “a small contribution to the cause.”
Today’s filing followed a deal Musk made with Twitter’s board to take the company private for around USD 44bn, paying USD 54.20 a share.
As of Thursday at 13:40 UTC, shares of Twitter were up by 4% to a price of USD 51.02.