South Korea’s Mirae Asset Financial Group is planning to commit about 300 billion won (US$208.8 million) to help finance Elon Musk’s US$44 billion buyout of Twitter Inc, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday.
The deal with Mirae is expected to be finalized before the deadline for the closing of the Twitter deal on Friday, the source added.
Mirae Asset earlier this year invested in Musk’s rocket and satellite company Space Exploration Technologies Corp, the person said.
Photo: Reuters
Musk’s lawyer was not immediately available for comment, and Mirae Asset declined to comment.
The Korea Economic Daily earlier reported Mirae Asset’s investment plan for Twitter.
“Mirae Asset is creating a 300 billion won fund to support Musk’s takeover of Twitter, according to the investment banking industry. The structure [of the fund] is to jointly acquire a stake in Twitter with Musk,” the newspaper reported.
Analysts say Musk needs to attract more equity investors to finance the Twitter purchase and avoid further sales of his stock in electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc.
Earlier this month, a Delaware judge gave Musk until Friday to close his takeover of the social media platform.
Tesla investors feared the billionaire might sell more Tesla stock to finance the deal, weighing on its shares.
Tesla shares have been on a dizzying roller-coaster ride this year, as jumpy investors reacted to a wide array of positive and negative news, ranging from supply problems, demand concerns, production disruptions in China, cash-strapped consumers and a looming global recession to the promise of a big boost to the electric vehicle industry from Washington’s climate act.
Overall though, the bad news has started to overshadow the good, reflected in the stock’s 40 percent decline this year, compared with the S&P 500 Index’s 20 percent drop over the same period.
A three-for-one stock split, effective since late August, failed to deliver the expected boost, despite Tesla’s popularity with mom-and-pop investors, while Musk’s pending deal to buy Twitter continues to be a drag on the electric vehicle maker’s share price.
Tesla shares closed 1.49 percent lower at US$211.25 on Monday.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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