Musk says he has secured US$46.5bil in funding for Twitter bid

Musk, the world's richest person according to a tally by Forbes, on April 14 presented a "best and final" cash offer of $43 billion to Twitter's board of directors, saying the social media company needs to be taken private to grow and become a platform for free speech.But Twitter failed to respond to his offer and adopted a "poison pill" to thwart him. Musk also is considering a tender offer to buy all company stock from shareholders but has not decided whether to do so, according to the filing on Thursday.

NEW YORK: Elon Musk said on Thursday he has lined up US$46.5 billion in debt and equity financing to buy Twitter Inc TWTR.N and is considering taking his offer directly to shareholders, a filing with U.S. regulators showed.

Musk himself has committed to put up $33.5 billion, which will include $21 billion of equity and $12.5 billion of margin loans against some of his Tesla Inc TSLA.O shares to finance the transaction. He is chief executive officer of electric vehicle maker Tesla.