Twitter shares are surging this morning after Elon Musk took a 9.2% stake in the company, reports CNBC. Here’s what you need to know:
- How much of Twitter does Elon Musk own? According to a Securities and Exchange Commission 13G filing, Elon Musk purchased 73,486,938 shares of Twitter, which equates to a 9.2% ownership stake in the company. That stake is said to be a passive stake.
- What is a passive stake? It’s when someone buys a share of a company but doesn’t have plans to take an active role in the company’s management, according to PayrollHeaven.
- So does Musk have a say in how Twitter is run now? In practice, no. Musk just owns a bunch of shares in Twitter now; he’s not on its board, nor does he have any other position in the company. However, given Musk’s stature in the tech world and the fact he owns over 9% of TWTR shares now, Twitter may pay a little more attention to what he says about the company/social media.
- How have investors reacted to the news? TWTR shares have skyrocketed in pre-market trading as of the time of this writing. Currently, Twitter shares are up over 26% to $49.81. That’s up from $39.31 per share at the close on Friday.
- Is Elon Musk’s move unexpected? Mostly. However, back on March 27, Musk replied to a tweet asking if he would ever consider building his own social media platform. Musk replied, “Am giving serious thought to this.” While buying shares in an existing social media company and starting your own are two different things, Musk clearly has an interest in the business of social media.
Am giving serious thought to this
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 27, 2022