Elon Musk gets by with a little help from his friends. He now has several big-name investors on board with his Twitter purchase, including Larry Ellison, Binance, a16z and Sequoia Capital. A total of 19 investors helped secure $7.14 billion in new funding for Musk's $44 billion buy, according to an SEC filing Thursday.
Saudi Arabian investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who has for years backed Twitter and was initially hesitant to support Musk, also pledged to invest in Musk's purchase vehicle. The prince agreed to roll over his $1.9 billion investment in the company, which reduces the amount Musk has to raise for his purchase.
"I believe you will be an excellent leader for Twitter to propel & maximise its great potential," Alwaleed tweeted Thursday.
Great to connect with you my "new" friend @elonmusk\n\nI believe you will be an excellent leader for @Twitter to propel & maximise its great potential\n\n@Kingdom_KHC & I look forward to roll our ~$1.9bn in the \u201cnew\u201d @Twitter and join you on this exciting journey— \u0627\u0644\u0648\u0644\u064a\u062f \u0628\u0646 \u0637\u0644\u0627\u0644 (@\u0627\u0644\u0648\u0644\u064a\u062f \u0628\u0646 \u0637\u0644\u0627\u0644) 1651748974
Musk named Strauss Capital, Brookfield, Baron Capital's Bamco and others as investors in the filing. Ellison, who is on Tesla's board and a friend of Musk, chipped in $1 billion. VyCapital and Sequoia Capital, which dropped $700 million and $800 million apiece, have invested in Musk's Boring Company. Binance, which shares Musk's love of crypto, committed $500 million.
Musk isn't done bringing in new investors, either. He's holding more conversations with current Twitter shareholders like Jack Dorsey to contribute to his purchase, according to the filing.
The new investments helped cut Musk's $12.5 billion margin loan against his Tesla stake to $6.25 billion, the filing states. The Tesla CEO's borrowing plans had rattled the automaker's investors, sending shares plunging.
Another potential concern for Tesla shareholders: CNBC's David Faber reports Musk plans to serve temporarily as Twitter's CEO after the deal closes.
Musk also recently told potential investors that he wants to take Twitter public again after a few years, sources told the Wall Street Journal. Twitter officials have said the deal is expected to close later this year, pending shareholder and regulatory approval.