Reports are that Elon Musk’s “Plan B” to acquire Twitter is coming together and that he’s likely to make a bid to buy it within about ten days. When last we left you in the saga, we noted that he would eliminate salaries/compensation for the Twitter board if he takes over, which might explain why they would not be enthusiastic about a deal

Musk himself dropped another clue as to what he was going to do, with the following tweet.

_______ is the Night

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 20, 2022

It’s kind of fun to play “guess the plan.” The NY Post may have figured out the answer: “Tender is the Night” — a famous novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald and later made into a movie. That is an indication that Musk is planning a tender offer: an effort to go around the board and directly to the shareholders.

A tender offer often occurs when an investor proposes buying shares from every shareholder of a publicly traded company for a certain price at a certain time. The investor normally offers a higher price per share than the company’s stock price, providing shareholders a greater incentive to sell their shares.

Musk had previously tweeted, “Love me Tender” — another indication of where he might be going.

🎶 Love Me Tender 🎶

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 16, 2022

The NY Post also notes that the latest “clue” may have another meaning as well — that 4/20 is a meme for pot smokers that Elon often likes to refer to.

According to the Post, Musk is working on a “complex deal that raises debt against both the company and possibly his stock, as well as a giant cash equity infusion from co-investors.”

Musk himself is willing to invest between $10 billion and $15 billion of his own cash to take Twitter private, two sources close to the situation said. That’s up from the current 9.1% stake in the company he revealed on April 4, which is worth about $3.4 billion.

Musk may also be willing to borrow against his current stake if necessary, a move that could possibly raise several billion additional dollars, sources said.

“The co-investors will combined have more equity than Musk but he will be the biggest single holder,” one of the sources said.

Nevertheless, it’s mainly outside financing that will carry the bid for Musk, who has tapped Morgan Stanley to raise another $10 billion in debt against Twitter in the manner of a traditional leveraged buyout, the sources said.

As first reported by The Post on Friday, however, the bulk of the money — about $20 billion, according to sources — will come from co-investors who will finance a hostile tender offer directly to Twitter shareholders, sources said.

Musk also indicated that he has issues with “woke” stuff taking over and censorship.

He commented on why Netflix’s shares had been cratering, noting that “The woke mind virus is making Netflix unwatchable.”

The woke mind virus is making Netflix unwatchable

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 20, 2022

He even agreed it was the “greatest threat to civilization.” No wonder they don’t want him in charge when he thinks that way.

Yes

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 20, 2022

Musk also expressed concern about the levels of censorship on social media platforms.

Extremely concerning. Who is pushing this censorship/deplatforming? Very shadowy.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 19, 2022

I suspect he knows generally, although perhaps not specifically, the “who” — which is why he’s trying to buy Twitter.