Musk ties up $7 bn funding; Oracle’s Ellison, Saudi royal among backers

BENGALURU: Elon Musk has secured $7.14 billion in funding from a group of investors that includes Oracle Corp co-founder Larry Ellison and Sequoia Capital to fund his $44 billion takeover of Twitter Inc, according to a filing on Thursday.

Saudi Arabian investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who had initially opposed the buyout, also agreed to roll his $1.89 billion stake into the deal rather than cashing out, the filing showed.

The move comes as Musk’s margin loan was reduced to $6.25 billion from $12.5 billion announced earlier, according to the filing.

Musk’s $21 billion financing commitment was also revised to $27.25 billion.

Musk will continue to hold talks with existing shareholders of Twitter, including the company’s former chief Jack Dorsey, to contribute shares to the proposed acquisition, the filing showed. Qatar Holding and Dubai-based Vy Capital, also an investor in Musk’s other venture The Boring Company, are also part of the investor group.

Last week it was reported Musk was in talks with large investment firms and high net-worth individuals about taking on more financing for his Twitter acquisition and tying up less of his wealth in the deal.

Ellison, a board member at Tesla and a self-described close friend of Musk has committed $1 billion for the funding.

Twitter’s shares were up about 2.9% at $50.5 before the bell, still below Musk’s offer of $54.20.