Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Aug 08, 2026

Twitter, Musk battle escalates: Poison pill, Musk’s ‘plan B’ and a divided Wall Street

Twitter, Musk battle escalates: Poison pill, Musk’s ‘plan B’ and a divided Wall Street

Musk has offered $54.20 per share offer to take Twitter private

Tesla CEO Elon Musk's surprise $43 billion, unsolicited offer for Twitter kicked off a tumultuous week for the social media giant and its investors, which capped with Friday's ‘poison pill’ via Twitter's board to stop Musk in his tracks.

Now it's anyone's guess as to what happens next. FOX Business takes a deep dive into the latest developments and what investors and analysts are forecasting.

Poison pill backfire?: Wedbush's Ives


Wedbush securities analyst Dan Ives told FOX Business on Friday that Twitter's move to prevent a takeover from Musk is a "predictable defensive measure" that will "not be viewed positively by shareholders given the potential dilution and acquisition unfriendly move."

Under the plan, which is also referred to as a "poison pill", shareholders' rights will become exercisable if an entity, person or group acquires beneficial ownership of 15% or more of Twitter's outstanding common stock in a transaction not approved by the board. In the event that the rights become exercisable, existing Twitter shareholders — except for the person, entity or group triggering the plan — would be entitled to purchase additional shares of common stock at a discount. Musk currently has a 9.2% stake in Twitter.

"The Board has the back against the wall and Musk and shareholders will likely challenge the merits of the poison pill in the courts," Ives explained. "We believe Musk and his team expected this poker move which will be perceived as a sign of weakness not strength by the Street."

Musk and Twitter scramble for next move


Going forward, Ives says that Musk will need to give specifics behind his financing for the $43 billion bid and come back to Twitter's board with a formal response. Meanwhile, he expects that Twitter will kick off a strategic process to look for other buyers.


Musk, who has offered to take Twitter private at $54.20 per share, has stated that the $43 billion bid is his "best and final" offer. However, he revealed at TED2022 on Thursday that he is prepared with a "plan B" if the offer is formally rejected. He did not elaborate on the details of that plan.


Twitter shares YTD



Stay long Twitter: T3 Trading


T3 Trading chief strategist Scott Redler believes that investors should go long on Twitter, arguing that the company is currently an "undervalued" and "poorly managed" asset that has the potential to become a platform for the betterment of society.

"I don’t think Twitter should be a private company. I think that Elon should be on the board. It would’ve been better if he bought 14%, so he could’ve shaken the tree," Redler told "The Claman Countdown" on Thursday. "I think that the company could be run better. I think the features could be more updated. I think they could get more users. They could make more money. And that’s what Elon was trying to do somewhat."

"But now with this $54 bid, it just wasn’t enough, and now it's turning into a little bit of a mishmash where the market doesn’t believe it, the board doesn’t know what to do, and he might come in higher even though he said best and final, which is never really best and final," Redler adds. "So he’s created a precarious situation where it's going be interesting to see how it all falls out."


Twitter can, should improve its product: JPMorgan


JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth told clients that Musk's offer is "credible" and "represents a 54% premium from where TWTR was trading before he began acquiring shares." However, he acknowledges that it is also well below the company's March 2021 highs. The firm maintains an "overweight" rating on the stock.

"We believe the shares have significantly greater upside if management is able to execute on its plan to innovate on product, grow the user base ~20%, and build out direct response advertising," Anmuth said in a note on Thursday. "Accordingly, we do not expect the offer to be accepted by the board."


Downside risk to shares: Stifel


Meanwhile, Stifel analyst Mark Kelley believes the bid "sets a near-term ceiling on shares, detaches the company from fundamentals, and offers significant downside risk if Mr. Musk decides to abandon his offer or sell down his stake." Stifel has downgraded the stock from "hold" to "sell" and warns that a rejected bid could cause Twitter shares to "sell off dramatically."


Twitter could seek a consortium of investors: Jefferies


Jeffries, which maintains a "hold" rating on Twitter stock, notes that a sell-off of more than 20% on a rejected Twitter bid would "definitely present value to a strategic investor."

"In our view, this could be a positive outcome given TWTR would likely prefer a consortium of investors rather than be controlled by a single large owner," Jeffries analyst Brent Thill told clients Thursday.

Thill believes Twitter is likely looking for an offer of at least $60 per share.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Australian Crew Evacuates Seriously Ill American From Antarctica in Midwinter Darkness
Trump’s Top General Seeks an Exit Strategy From Iran War, Report Says
Brock Lesnar Retires From Wrestling, Closing a Career of Rare Athletic Range and Lasting Controversy
Trump-Era Policy Shifts Test the Boundaries of U.S. Institutions
UK Drought Cuts Harvests and Raises Food-Security Fears
UFO: Pentagon Releases Video of Unidentified Object Tracked Over Middle East
US Health Secretary: “I’m Not Afraid of Germs — I Used to Snort Cocaine Off Toilet Seats”
Ukraine Tells Senate Republicans Its Drone War Offers a Blueprint for America
Weight-Loss Drug Boom Tests the Limits of Prescription Advertising Rules
Trump Keeps Hegseth at Pentagon While Leaving Door Open for DeSantis
UK Clears Paramount’s Warner Bros. Discovery Deal, but US Trial Looms
UK Prosecutors Add 38 Charges Against Andrew and Tristan Tate
Taiwan’s President Joins Wartime Command Drill as China Pressure Grows
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan Sign Mutual-Defence Pact
HMRC’s 2029 Tax Shift Could Overlap Old and New Self-Assessment Bills
Thetford Disorder Prompts Expanded Police Powers Amid Asylum-Housing Protests
Cambridge Faces Calls for Independent Review of Jason Arday Appointment
Scotland’s ‘Cock of the North’ Woodland Is Being Felled After Wind Damage
Reform UK and Greens Unite Against Vast Solar Plans for Kent Marshland
New Zealand Draws Wealthy Americans With Revamped Investor Visa
Senate Panel Votes to Hold Anthony Fauci in Contempt After Fifth Amendment Testimony
Cambridge Professor Jason Arday Resigns as University Opens Inquiry Into His Credentials
Manchester Power Failure Disrupts Trains Across North West Into Friday
Lightning Strike Kills Yala FC Player During Match in Southern Thailand
Senate Scrutinises AI-Driven Personalised Pricing
Spain Seeks Mainland Transfers for 1,100 Children Stranded in Ceuta
Spain and Morocco Trade Blame After 72,000 Migrants Enter Ceuta
Met Police Investigated Journalist Who Questioned Cambridge Professor
Badenoch Defends Tory Candidate Jailed for Antisemitic Abuse of Luciana Berger
NHS Spends £240m a Year Storing Paper Records Despite Digital Push
Apple Seeks Court Order to Stop OpenAI Using Alleged Trade Secrets
Breaking With the Past: One of the World’s Smallest Countries Changes Its Name
AI Is Remaking the US Economy, From GDP Growth to iPhone Prices
Comcast: Tied to a Chair and Hit in the Face With Cake: The Regular Humiliation Ritual at the US Corporate Giant
Aston Martin Faces Legal Threat Over £550m Rescue Deal
Reform UK Wants the Royal Navy to Return Channel Boats to France
US and Japan Step In to Support the Yen in Rare Joint Intervention
The AI Pricing Problem: Companies Cannot Predict Their Own Bills
Europe’s Heat and Drought Are Now Disrupting Power, Shipping and Tourism
Apple’s OpenAI Lawsuit Becomes a Public Fight Over AI Hardware
UK Man Jailed After Keeping His Mother’s Body in a Freezer and Claiming £78,000
A SpaceX Rocket Is About to Crash Into the Moon — and Scientists Hope to Watch
World War II munitions discovered after wildfires in southern France
BP profits reach four-year high amid Middle East conflict
Europe’s Drying Rivers Trigger Power Cuts, Factory Shutdowns and Wildfire Emergencies
Nigel Farage Expresses Openness to Potential Alliance with Restore Britain
Triple Lock Lifts UK State Pension but Leaves a Wider Retirement Gap
Danube Drought Forces Hungary’s Paks Nuclear Plant Into Full Shutdown
Ceuta Death Toll Rises as Spain and Europe Clash Over Border Response
Cuba’s Grid Fails Again as Fuel Crisis Deepens
×