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  4. Elon Musk said he secured another $7 billion backing for his Twitter deal — including from a Saudi prince

Elon Musk said he secured another $7 billion backing for his Twitter deal including from a Saudi prince

Isobel Asher Hamilton   

Elon Musk said he secured another $7 billion backing for his Twitter deal — including from a Saudi prince
Tech1 min read
  • Elon Musk secured an extra $7.1 billion backing for his proposed Twitter takeover, a regulatory filing shows.
  • Musk said in a previous filing he had already secured $46.5 billion in financing.

Elon Musk has secured a further $7.1 billion in backing for his proposed acquisition of Twitter, a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) document filed on Wednesday shows.

Among the backers listed on the filing are Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a current Twitter investor, who promised to commit a total of $1.9 billion worth of shares to back Musk's proposed buyout.

Larry Ellison and cryptocurrency exchange Binance are also listed as backers, the latter having promised $500 million.

Musk said on April 21 that he had secured $46.5 billion in financing for his takeover bid. Musk's offer to buy Twitter values the company at $44 billion.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is the founder of Kingdom Holding Company, the largest private investment holding company in Saudi Arabia, with $13 billion worth of assets under management as of 2018.

Prince Alwaleed lost billions during the 2008 financial crisis, but profited hugely in the years after, rising to become the richest man in the Arab world. However, in 2017, Prince Alwaleed was among scores of royals rounded up by the then newly-minted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as part of a major anti-corruption drive.

On April 14, before Twitter accepted Musk's bid, Prince Alwaleed tweeted that he didn't believe Musk's offer matched Twitter's value.

"Being one of the largest & long-term shareholders of Twitter, @Kingdom_KHC [Kingdom Holding Company] & I reject this offer," he said.

Musk responded to the tweet, asking: "How much of Twitter does the Kingdom own?" and "What are the Kingdom's views on journalistic freedom of speech?"

Musk has described himself as a "free speech absolutist" and said he wants to buy Twitter because of its "potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe."

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