Twitter Inc.¡¯s board directors can lean on concerns about the fate of the social media platform under Elon Musk to rebuff him, but if they decide to explore a sale, price will override all other considerations, corporate governance experts said.
The San Francisco-based company received a $43 billion "best and final" offer from Musk last week, which it is still reviewing. Musk, the world¡¯s richest person and CEO of Tesla Inc., has said he wants to make Twitter an "arena for free speech," cheering Twitter¡¯s critics who complain about censorship and alarming those worried about hate speech and bullying.
Twitter¡¯s board is expected to reject Musk¡¯s bid as too low by April 28, when it is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings, people familiar with the matter have said. Even if Twitter¡¯s bankers declared the offer was fair, the company¡¯s board of directors has wide latitude to reject it if they thought the platform was better off with its current content strategy, corporate governance lawyers and professors said.
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