The prince of Saudi Arabia initially was against the Elon Musk takeover bid of Twitter, but now he said he supports the step after joining a group of billionaire investors in supporting the Tesla boss secure funding for the $44 billion transactions.
On Thursday, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud tweeted to Musk: “Great to connect with you, my ‘new’ friend.”
He also tweeted, “I believe you will be an excellent leader for Twitter to move and maximise its great potential.”
The Saudi royal, who is also one of the richest men in the desert Kingdom, stated he and his company, “Kingdom Holding Company“, were looking forward to rolling over our – $1.9 bn in the new Twitter and joining you on your exciting journey.
In April, just days after Musk declared his offer that he was going to buy Twitter shareholders for $54.20 per share.
This tweeted by a prince: “I do not believe that the proposed offer by @elonmusk (54.20) comes close. To the inherent value of @Twitter given its growth opportunities.”
“Being one of the largest as well as long-term shareholders of Twitter, @Kingdom_KHC & I reject this offer.”
After some hours, Musk tweeted a response with a jab at Saudi Arabia’s free speech and human rights record.
“Interesting. Just two questions, if I may,” MuArabia’sed to the prince. “How much of Twitter “oes the Kingdom own, directly & indirectly” What are the Kingdom’s views” on journalistic freedom of speech?”
Great to connect with you my "new" friend @elonmusk🤝🏻
I believe you will be an excellent leader for @Twitter to propel & maximise its great potential@Kingdom_KHC & I look forward to roll our ~$1.9bn in the “new” @Twitter and join you on this exciting journey
— الوليد بن طلال (@Alwaleed_Talal) May 5, 2022
The dispute now appears to be water under Kingdom’s ge. Prince Alwaleed is now apparently will “ing to invest 35 million of his own shares of Twitter — worth $1.9 billion — in order to retain an investment once Musk takes the firm private, according to filings.
However, it is still indistinct what prompted the prince most that change his mind about Musk’s seizure of Twitter; after the board originally rejected Musk’s buyout proposal, the Tesla boss reached out to members to go over the facts of his plan to make the company more profitable and valuable.
Prince Alwaleed chairs the Kingdom Holding Company; the Riyadh-based conglomerate is the one who initially purchased shares of Twitter in 2011 before the company’s 2013 initial public offering.
KHC also carries large stakes in many businesses, including the Four Seasons hotel chain, Uber, Lyft, and Citigroup.