Breakingviews - What is Morgan Stanley smoking in Twitter LBO?

  • 📰 Breakingviews
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 45 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 21%
  • Publisher: 51%

Loans Loans Headlines News

Loans Loans Latest News,Loans Loans Headlines

Have Morgan Stanley’s bankers inhaled some of Elon Musk’s favourite herb? That’s one explanation for the debt package they’ve put together to fund the Tesla boss’s proposed Twitter buyout . But the loans look more rational if you peer through the smoke.

The financing, which Musk’s bankers hashed out in a few days, will have raised eyebrows on Wall Street. Twitter generated almost $1.5 billion of EBITDA last year, excluding a shareholder-litigation settlement. A Musk takeover would puff up the company’s leverage to a heady 8.6 times EBITDA, excluding cash on its balance sheet.

. That leaves lenders with little protection if growth goes into reverse. Such a scenario is all too plausible if Musk spooks advertisers by blazing his way through content-moderation rules in the interests of promoting free speech.A financial partner like Thoma Bravo might provide some reassurance, though it’s doubtful the buyout firm could restrain the billionaire. A better reason for hope is that Musk has lots of skin in the game.

Musk’s exposure is chunky even for a man of his net worth, which Forbes puts at $270 billion. That gives him good reason to care about the company’s financial health, even if he says he doesn’t. If Twitter keeps growing as analysts expect, leverage would fall to less than 7 times EBITDA by 2023.makes him an attractive private-banking client. Pleasing him boosts the bank’s chances of being involved in future deals involving Tesla and SpaceX.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

PO PeterObi PeterObi4President PeterObiForPresident2023 PeterObi4President2023

Well, since you asked...

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 470. in LOANS

Loans Loans Latest News, Loans Loans Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

What is Morgan Stanley smoking in Twitter LBO?The bank is leading a $13 bln debt package for Elon Musk’s buyout and lending $12.5 bln against his Tesla stock. Interest will eat up the social network’s cash flow and Musk may undermine its revenue. A good relationship with the world’s richest man may justify the risk, though. LiamWardProud His agreement to acquire lithium from Chinese mining operations in Afghanistan may justify the risk. The Afghan people might not agree.
Source: Breakingviews - 🏆 470. / 51 Read more »