FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried was “potentially interested” in financing Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, according to internal court documents.
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— kate conger (@kateconger) September 29, 2022
Insider first reported the information; later, documents were published by New York Times correspondent Kate Conger. According to the report, the adviser to the FTX chief Will MacAskill attempted to arrange a meeting between Musk and Bankman-Fried as early as March.
According to media reports, the latter was allegedly prepared to invest between $8 and $15 billion. Subsequently, the figure was revised to $5 billion.
In early April, Musk became Twitter’s largest shareholder after acquiring 9.2% of the shares for $2.89 billion.
On April 14, he proposed to buy the social network for more than $43 billion. The entrepreneur explained this as an intention to create “an inclusive arena for freedom of speech,” rather than a money-making venture.
Initially, Twitter’s management did not value the offer and approved a plan to defend against the takeover. However, later revised its stance on the position, approving the deal at $44 billion. In financial documents dated May 4, the name of the FTX chief or affiliated entities did not appear.
On May 13, Tesla chief Elon Musk announced the suspension of the Twitter takeover after reports that the platform’s audience metrics had been inflated. He also blamed the platform’s algorithms for manipulating users.
Twitter shareholders filed a lawsuit against Musk over the “chaotic process” of the takeover. The latter made claims against the billionaire, demanding that he fulfil his obligations and complete the purchase.
On 29 July, the businessman filed a countersuit. He said he was prepared to close the deal on the original terms if Twitter discloses the method of sampling 100 accounts and the method for verifying their authenticity.
In early August, Twitter’s lawyers summoned Binance’s unit to court over the financing allocated to the takeover by Elon Musk. The summons were also served on the financial advisers, investors and potential lenders to the businessman.
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