Beautiful Virgin Islands

Sunday, Nov 16, 2025

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
Nearly Half of Job Losses Under Labour Government Affect UK Youth
UK Chancellor Reeves Eyes High-Value Home Levy in Budget to Raise Tens of Billions
UK Urges Poland to Choose Swedish Submarines in Multi-Billion € Defence Bid
US Border Czar Tom Homan Declares UK No Longer a ‘Friend’ Amid Intelligence Rift
UK Announces Reversal of Income Tax Hike Plans Ahead of Budget
Starmer Faces Mounting Turmoil as Leaked Briefings Ignite Leadership Plot Rumours
UK Commentator Sami Hamdi Returns Home After US Visa Revocation and Detention
UK Eyes Denmark-Style Asylum Rules in Major Migration Shift
UK Signals Intelligence Freeze Amid US Maritime Drug-Strike Campaign
TikTok Awards UK & Ireland 2025 Celebrates Top Creators Including Max Klymenko as Creator of the Year
UK Growth Nearly Stalls at 0.1% in Q3 as Cyberattack Halts Car Production
Apple Denied Permission to Appeal UK App Store Ruling, Faces Over £1bn Liability
UK Chooses Wylfa for First Small Modular Reactors, Drawing Sharp U.S. Objection
Starmer Faces Growing Labour Backlash as Briefing Sparks Authority Crisis
Reform UK Withdraws from BBC Documentary Amid Legal Storm Over Trump Speech Edit
UK Prime Minister Attempts to Reassert Authority Amid Internal Labour Leadership Drama
UK Upholds Firm Rules on Stablecoins to Shield Financial System
Brussels Divided as UK-EU Reset Stalls Over Budget Access
Prince Harry’s Remembrance Day Essay Expresses Strong Regret at Leaving Britain
UK Unemployment Hits 5% as Wage Growth Slows, Paving Way for Bank of England Rate Cut
Starmer Warns of Resurgent Racism in UK Politics as He Vows Child-Poverty Reforms
UK Grocery Inflation Slows to 4.7% as Supermarkets Launch Pre-Christmas Promotions
UK Government Backs the BBC amid Editing Scandal and Trump Threat of Legal Action
UK Assessment Mis-Estimated Fallout From Palestine Action Ban, Records Reveal
UK Halts Intelligence Sharing with US Amid Lethal Boat-Strike Concerns
King Charles III Leads Britain in Remembrance Sunday Tribute to War Dead
UK Retail Sales Growth Slows as Households Hold Back Ahead of Black Friday and Budget
Shell Pulls Out of Two UK Floating Wind Projects Amid Renewables Retreat
Viagogo Hit With £15 Million Tax Bill After HMRC Transfer-Pricing Inquiry
Jaguar Land Rover Cyberattack Pinches UK GDP, Bank of England Says
UK and Germany Sound Alarm on Russian-Satellite Threat to Critical Infrastructure
Former Prince Andrew Faces U.S. Congressional Request for Testimony Amid Brexit of Royal Title
BBC Director-General Tim Davie and News CEO Deborah Turness Resign Amid Editing Controversy
Tom Cruise Arrives by Helicopter at UK Scientology Fundraiser Amid Local Protests
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson Face Fresh UK Probes Amid Royal Fallout
Mothers Link Teen Suicides to AI Chatbots in Growing Legal Battle
UK Government to Mirror Denmark’s Tough Immigration Framework in Major Policy Shift
UK Government Turns to Denmark-Style Immigration Reforms to Overhaul Border Rules
UK Chancellor Warned Against Cutting Insulation Funding as Budget Looms
UK Tenant Complaints Hit Record Levels as Rental Sector Faces Mounting Pressure
Apple to Pay Google About One Billion Dollars Annually for Gemini AI to Power Next-Generation Siri
UK Signals Major Shift as Nuclear Arms Race Looms
BBC’s « Celebrity Traitors UK » Finale Breaks Records with 11.1 Million Viewers
UK Spy Case Collapse Highlights Implications for UK-Taiwan Strategic Alignment
On the Road to the Oscars? Meghan Markle to Star in a New Film
A Vote Worth a Trillion Dollars: Elon Musk’s Defining Day
AI Researchers Claim Human-Level General Intelligence Is Already Here
President Donald Trump Challenges Nigeria with Military Options Over Alleged Christian Killings
Nancy Pelosi Finally Announces She Will Not Seek Re-Election, Signalling End of Long Congressional Career
UK Pre-Budget Blues and Rate-Cut Concerns Pile Pressure on Pound
×