Elon Musk’s Proposal to Buy 100% of Twitter

 

Now that Musk is bidding for a full takeover of Twitter, the left and the likes of Max Boot are crying about the effect unfettered (or less fettered) speech has on democracy.

These same clowns didn’t care when social media blocked a true story about the Biden family’s global influence-peddling scheme during the 2020 election cycle.

I suspect Biden’s SEC will hold this up, or maybe it’s a ploy by Musk to drive up the price and sell the 9 percent he currently has.

One thing  about Twitter and the last four years: it showed the media for who they really are, especially the GOPe (e.g., Bill Kristol and the Weekly Standard gang).

Published in General
This post was promoted to the Main Feed by a Ricochet Editor at the recommendation of Ricochet members. Like this post? Want to comment? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.

There are 75 comments.

Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.
  1. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    David Foster (View Comment):

    Here’s a handy Guide to Acquiring a US Public Company.

    Saudis and their 5.2% cannot nix the deal, if there are enough other shares voted in favor.

    A lot of institutional owners would probably like to vote against, for reasons of political correctness, but if the offer is sufficiently high and they do vote against, they will likely be opening themselves up to fiduciary-responsibility lawsuits.

    I kinda like the idea of leftists forced to “play capitalism” whether they want to or not.

    • #31
  2. DrewInWisconsin, Oik! Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Oik!
    @DrewInWisconsin

    kedavis (View Comment):

    I kinda like the idea of leftists forced to “play capitalism” whether they want to or not.

    They’ve always been vulture capitalists, pretending not to be.

    • #32
  3. Victor Tango Kilo Member
    Victor Tango Kilo
    @VtheK

    David French has the sadz.

    • #33
  4. Kevin Schulte Member
    Kevin Schulte
    @KevinSchulte

    Victor Tango Kilo (View Comment):

    David French has the sadz.

    If there is one person I’d love to slap . Yep , you guessed him. 

    • #34
  5. DrewInWisconsin, Oik! Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Oik!
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Victor Tango Kilo (View Comment):

    David French has the sadz.

    Translation: “People I don’t like might be allowed to say things I don’t like!” 

    Uh yeah, Dave, that’s called freedom of speech.

     

    • #35
  6. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Kevin Schulte (View Comment):

    Victor Tango Kilo (View Comment):

    David French has the sadz.

     

    If there is one person I’d love to slap . Yep , you guessed him.

    I dunno, if I was only allowed one, I may not want to waste it on him.

    • #36
  7. Michael S. Malone Member
    Michael S. Malone
    @MichaelSMalone

    I know Elon.  He’s got that distracted style and soft South Africa accent.  But trust me:  he is tough, relentless SOB, and he is thinking four or five steps ahead.  He will win this, or sell his Twitter stock for a big profit (not that he cares) and then watch his departure collapse the stock, or he will fund the creation of the anti-Twitter.  Whichever scenario is the one he pursues, he will win.

    • #37
  8. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    DrewInWisconsin, Oik! (View Comment):

    The Biden Administration is already weaponizing the DOJ to try to take down Elon Musk. They cannot allow him to take control of their main avenue of messaging.

    Really?  How’s that?

    • #38
  9. DonG (CAGW is a Hoax) Coolidge
    DonG (CAGW is a Hoax)
    @DonG

    Henry Racette (View Comment):
    I would be happy if they — and all social media — simply allowed all non-criminal speech.

    That would be Gab.  They are the coder’s choice for social media.

    • #39
  10. DrewInWisconsin, Oik! Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Oik!
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Flicker (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oik! (View Comment):

    The Biden Administration is already weaponizing the DOJ to try to take down Elon Musk. They cannot allow him to take control of their main avenue of messaging.

    Really? How’s that?

    “Show me the man and I’ll show you the crime.” — Merrick Garland, probably.

    • #40
  11. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    DrewInWisconsin, Oik! (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oik! (View Comment):

    The Biden Administration is already weaponizing the DOJ to try to take down Elon Musk. They cannot allow him to take control of their main avenue of messaging.

    Really? How’s that?

    “Show me the man and I’ll show you the crime.” — Merrick Garland, probably.

    If nothing else, I’m sure they could arrange to rake him over the coals, repeatedly, for some made-up tax problems or something.  Y’know, like they tried with Trump.

    • #41
  12. Henry Racette Member
    Henry Racette
    @HenryRacette

    DonG (CAGW is a Hoax) (View Comment):

    Henry Racette (View Comment):
    I would be happy if they — and all social media — simply allowed all non-criminal speech.

    That would be Gab. They are the coder’s choice for social media.

    I’m on a few other social media platforms since leaving Facebook, but just barely. The reality of network advantage is huge, and Gab, MeWe, etc., suffer from the consequences of being free-speech alternatives to the mainstream choices.

    The problem is that the established first-to-market companies have lots of normal people on them. The alternative platforms tend to have a lot of people who, like me, couldn’t stand the censorship and wanted to be on a free-speech platform. And the problem with that is that you get a disproportionate number of crazy and intemperate people on the alternative platforms, lots of loony conspiracy folk, lots of hot heads.

    I’m glad those people have a voice; I want everyone to have a voice. But I preferred the company of the thousand or so normal friends I had on Facebook to the few hundred relatively extreme people with whom I interact on MeWe.

    Best would be for all of the platforms to have the guts to be less fascistic.

    • #42
  13. Richard Easton Coolidge
    Richard Easton
    @RichardEaston

    • #43
  14. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Richard Easton (View Comment):

    When it comes to African-Americans, I prefer Charlize Theron.

    • #44
  15. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Richard Easton (View Comment):

    When it comes to African-Americans, I prefer Charlize Theron.

    Lara Logan gets my vote.

    • #45
  16. ctlaw Coolidge
    ctlaw
    @ctlaw

    You can track Musk’s 13D filings by watching for changes here:

    https://www.sec.gov/edgar/search/#/q=elon%2520musk&dateRange=30d&filter_ciks=0001494730&filter_entityName=Musk%2520Elon%2520%2520(CIK%25200001494730)&filter_forms=SC%252013D

    • #46
  17. Chris O Coolidge
    Chris O
    @ChrisO

    Not sure what Musk is up to, but he’s caused a lovely uproar. He’s also managed to draw attention to who the bigger shareholders are, and questioned one notable owner’s commitment to free speech.

    Less talked about is his promise to open source the algorithms, Twitter laid bare. If there are unsavory things there (like the explanation for notable conservatives constantly losing followers in high numbers), it creates another bit of motivation for the board to refuse the sale, regardless of shareholder wishes.

    It is interesting theater, at the least. Musk owns the court of public opinion framing this as a free speech and civilizational imperative.

    • #47
  18. Fake John/Jane Galt Coolidge
    Fake John/Jane Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    DrewInWisconsin, Oik! (View Comment):

    Victor Tango Kilo (View Comment):

    David French has the sadz.

    Translation: “People I don’t like might be allowed to say things I don’t like!”

    Uh yeah, Dave, that’s called freedom of speech.

     

    I notice that guys like French dislike anything that evens the playing field.  They very much like their ability to punch down.  Especially to punch down at MAGA.  

     

    • #48
  19. DrewInWisconsin, Oik! Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Oik!
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Fake John/Jane Galt (View Comment):

    I notice that guys like French dislike anything that evens the playing field. They very much like their ability to punch down. Especially to punch down at MAGA.

    Punching down is The Dispatch‘s stock in trade.

    • #49
  20. DrewInWisconsin, Oik! Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Oik!
    @DrewInWisconsin

    kedavis (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oik! (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oik! (View Comment):

    The Biden Administration is already weaponizing the DOJ to try to take down Elon Musk. They cannot allow him to take control of their main avenue of messaging.

    Really? How’s that?

    “Show me the man and I’ll show you the crime.” — Merrick Garland, probably.

    If nothing else, I’m sure they could arrange to rake him over the coals, repeatedly, for some made-up tax problems or something. Y’know, like they tried with Trump.

    • #50
  21. Fake John/Jane Galt Coolidge
    Fake John/Jane Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    DonG (CAGW is a Hoax) (View Comment):

    Fake John/Jane Galt (View Comment):

    What happens if people decide just not to sell their stock? Can they be forced to sell their stock? Also why can’t the government just step in and say no and stop the deal?

    Government can always nix a stock transaction. Most of the shares are owned by institutions. They are easy to please, since they just care about making money. There are no sentimental holdings at Vanguard and BlackRock. These top-10 hold about 40% of the shares.

     

    Top 10 Owners of Twitter Inc

    StockholderStakeShares
    ownedTotal value ($)Shares
    bought / soldTotal
    change

    The Vanguard Group, Inc. 8.39% 67,172,425 2,598,901,123 +377,367 +0.56%
    Morgan Stanley Investment Managem… 8.08% 64,722,431 2,504,110,855 -4,853,950 -6.98%
    BlackRock Fund Advisors 4.56% 36,536,143 1,413,583,373 +636,856 +1.77%
    SSgA Funds Management, Inc. 4.54% 36,363,324 1,406,897,006 +836,358 +2.35%
    Aristotle Capital Management LLC 2.51% 20,112,134 778,138,464 +583,355 +2.99%
    ARK Investment Management LLC 2.15% 17,245,755 667,238,261 +3,460,856 +25.11%
    Fidelity Management & Research Co… 2.14% 17,112,059 662,065,563 -2,346,573 -12.06%
    ClearBridge Investments LLC 2.09% 16,733,505 647,419,308 -476,088 -2.77%
    Geode Capital Management LLC 1.79% 14,314,021 553,809,472 +378,646 +2.72%
    Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd. 1.56% 12,467,698 482,375,236 +1,731,554 +16.13%

    I figure that Vanguard and BlackRock will stop it.  They are both very Leftist ESG guys using their buying power to forward Leftist goals.  

    • #51
  22. Fake John/Jane Galt Coolidge
    Fake John/Jane Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    David Foster (View Comment):

    Here’s a handy Guide to Acquiring a US Public Company.

    Saudis and their 5.2% cannot nix the deal, if there are enough other shares voted in favor.

    A lot of institutional owners would probably like to vote against, for reasons of political correctness, but if the offer is sufficiently high and they do vote against, they will likely be opening themselves up to fiduciary-responsibility lawsuits.

    That in itself might be Musks play.  

    • #52
  23. DrewInWisconsin, Oik! Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Oik!
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Never heard of BlackRock before 2021, and now they seemingly own everything.

    Can we nuke ’em?

     

    • #53
  24. DrewInWisconsin, Oik! Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Oik!
    @DrewInWisconsin

    • #54
  25. GlennAmurgis Coolidge
    GlennAmurgis
    @GlennAmurgis

    DrewInWisconsin, Oik! (View Comment):

    Never heard of BlackRock before 2021, and now they seemingly own everything.

    Can we nuke ’em?

     

    Blackrock is behind a lot of the ESG/Woke capitalism that has infected most of the boardrooms

    • #55
  26. Richard Easton Coolidge
    Richard Easton
    @RichardEaston

    • #56
  27. Stina Inactive
    Stina
    @CM

    Richard Easton (View Comment):

    Omg… this is a fantastic meme

    • #57
  28. Al Sparks Coolidge
    Al Sparks
    @AlSparks

    I like Elon Musk.  But I keep in mind that he isn’t a political ideologue, and he’s a little like Trump.  Not as rude, but just as inconsistent.

    But what Musk is doing, or more specifically the reaction against what he is doing, is going to shine a light for many conservatives how the left is using other people’s money to control big corporations.  There have been lots of conservative screeds against George Soros and Bill Gates, but they essentially are using their own money much like Musk is.

    Getting back to Twitter, the latest development is that the Vanguard Group, which invests other people’s money, is now the largest shareholder.  Included in Vanguard Group’s customers are 401K retail investors.

    Take Disney.  They really don’t care about conservative activists, but they do care about investors that are activists.   Most of their louder investors are pension funds like the State of California’s public employees.  And investors like the Vanguard Group.

    Most people who have 401K investments don’t know how their money is invested, and don’t care because they trust the third parties that invest in their behalf and they just aren’t interested.  But like other institutions, their trust is about to break down as it becomes clear that those investors are leveraging that trust for political influence.

    It’s not that mainstream conservative publications haven’t been warning of this, it’s just that mainstream America hasn’t been paying attention.

    I’m hopeful that that is about to change.

    • #58
  29. Franco Member
    Franco
    @Franco

    Al Sparks (View Comment):
    I like Elon Musk.  But I keep in mind that he isn’t a political ideologue, and he’s a little like Trump.  Not as rude, but just as inconsistent.

    For me this is a feature not a bug, especially when compared to many  existing ‘conservative’ ideologues. In fact our ideologues – the ones we can trust –  are presently doing little or nothing to advance the ball. We’ve gone beyond abstractions and are not going to convince our jailers of our good will and innocence. 

    Also, “rudeness” is often required in this environment, and those who put a premium on civility and decorum when addressing enemies of freedom aren’t worth much.

    Otherwise I agree with the rest of your comment.

    • #59
  30. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Fake John/Jane Galt (View Comment):

    DonG (CAGW is a Hoax) (View Comment):

    Fake John/Jane Galt (View Comment):

    What happens if people decide just not to sell their stock? Can they be forced to sell their stock? Also why can’t the government just step in and say no and stop the deal?

    Government can always nix a stock transaction. Most of the shares are owned by institutions. They are easy to please, since they just care about making money. There are no sentimental holdings at Vanguard and BlackRock. These top-10 hold about 40% of the shares.

     

    Top 10 Owners of Twitter Inc

    StockholderStakeShares
    ownedTotal value ($)Shares
    bought / soldTotal
    change

    The Vanguard Group, Inc. 8.39% 67,172,425 2,598,901,123 +377,367 +0.56%
    Morgan Stanley Investment Managem… 8.08% 64,722,431 2,504,110,855 -4,853,950 -6.98%
    BlackRock Fund Advisors 4.56% 36,536,143 1,413,583,373 +636,856 +1.77%
    SSgA Funds Management, Inc. 4.54% 36,363,324 1,406,897,006 +836,358 +2.35%
    Aristotle Capital Management LLC 2.51% 20,112,134 778,138,464 +583,355 +2.99%
    ARK Investment Management LLC 2.15% 17,245,755 667,238,261 +3,460,856 +25.11%
    Fidelity Management & Research Co… 2.14% 17,112,059 662,065,563 -2,346,573 -12.06%
    ClearBridge Investments LLC 2.09% 16,733,505 647,419,308 -476,088 -2.77%
    Geode Capital Management LLC 1.79% 14,314,021 553,809,472 +378,646 +2.72%
    Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd. 1.56% 12,467,698 482,375,236 +1,731,554 +16.13%

    I figure that Vanguard and BlackRock will stop it. They are both very Leftist ESG guys using their buying power to forward Leftist goals.

    I’m interested in what the answer was that Musk didn’t give when asked what he would do if the sale didn’t go through.

    • #60
Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.