Private equity firm Apollo Global Management has been in talks about funding a possible takeover of Twitter, according to people familiar with the matter.
But Apollo is not interested in being part of a private equity consortium that would acquire the social media company, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. Any funding provided by Apollo would likely be in the form of preferred stock, one of the people said.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and the richest person in the world, offered to buy Twitter for $43 billion last week. Twitter’s board of directors is likely to reject this offer, according to a Wall Street Journal article. Still, funding sources are considering their willingness to lend to Musk or another potential buyer, locals said. Twitter had negative cash flow last year, making it an unusual candidate for a leveraged buyout.
On Friday, Twitter passed a time-limited shareholder rights plan, often referred to as a “poison pill”, in an effort to ward off a possible hostile takeover. The next day, Musk tweeted “Love Me Tender,” suggesting he might make a takeover bid directly to Twitter shareholders.