Cofounder & Former CEO Jack Dorsey Slams Twitter Over Elon Musk Attempted Buyout

© REUTERS / Stephen LamA Twitter logo is seen outside the company headquarters in San Francisco, California, U.S., January 11, 2021
A Twitter logo is seen outside the company headquarters in San Francisco, California, U.S., January 11, 2021 - Sputnik International, 1920, 18.04.2022
Subscribe
This somes amid Tesla CEO and billionaire Elon Musk’s ongoing attempt to buy Twitter and make it private.
The former CEO and soon to be former board member of Twitter had some choice words for Twitter’s board on, well… Twitter (where else?)

Replying to a tweet from a user detailing Twitter’s early days of “plots and coups,” Dorsey responded that “It’s consistently been the dysfunction of the company,” adding later that he was not allowed to say that.

Dorsey resigned as CEO of Twitter in November, his second stint in that role. He also announced that he is leaving his position on the board when his current term ends in late May. He took criticism at the time for pulling double duty as the CEO of payments processor Square and for the social media giant’s censorship of The New York Post’s story on Hunter Biden’s laptop, a decision he later called a “huge mistake.”
Reportedly, the board forced Dorsey out during his first run as Twitter CEO in 2008, after serving in that role since the company’s founding.
That may have contributed to Dorsey’s distaste for the Twitter board, even as its members have rotated in and out over the years. The former CEO took to Twitter shortly after Elon announced his intention to buy Twitter, decrying the fact that it is a publicly traded company.
“As a public company, Twitter has always been for sale. That’s the real issue,” Dorsey tweeted.
It is unclear what Dorsey thinks about Musk’s bid to purchase Twitter. When Musk’s purchase of 9.1% of Twitter was announced and Musk was set to join Twitter’s board of directors, Dorsey tweeted that he was happy with the news.
But days later, Musk announced that he would not be joining the board and stated that he is offering $43 billion to buy the platform outright. As a board member, Musk would have been limited to owning 14.9% of Twitter’s stock.
Twitter’s board voted to institute a “poison pill” plan that allows current shareholders to buy newly minted stock at a discount if any entity garners more than 15% of Twitter’s stock. That would dilute the stock of any entity trying to take over the company in an aggressive manner.
FILE PHOTO: Elon Musk talks at the Automotive World News Congress at the Renaissance Center in Detroit - Sputnik International, 1920, 15.04.2022
Poison Pill: Twitter's Board of Directors Adopts Plan to Block Elon Musk's Buyout Offer
Reports indicate that the vote was unanimous, so presumably Dorsey voted for it as well, though it is possible that he was not present at the vote or abstained from voting.
Gary Black, Managing Partner of The Future Fund, an ETF that invests in tech startups, pointed out that other than Dorsey, no one on the board owns a significant amount of stock in the company. Dorsey owns 2.25% of Twitter; no one else on the board owns more than 0.063%. Most own less than 0.01%.
Black speculated that board members might be more interested in keeping their $200,000 to $300,000 “part-time” jobs than what is best for their shareholders.
Musk replied by saying he would cut the board salary to $0 if his bid succeeds.
At the TED2022 conference, Musk stated that his $43 billion bid was as high as he would go in his attempt to buy the company but also hinted at a “plan B” if it failed. He declined to provide any further details.
Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала