Billionaire businessman Elon Musk has secured more than $7.1 billion in new equity funding from a group of investors to help finance his $44bn acquisition of Twitter.
Eighteen investors have made commitments ranging between $850,000 and $1bn, according to a regulatory filing in the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Last month, Twitter entered a definitive agreement to be acquired by an entity wholly-owned by Mr Musk, for $54.20 per share in cash. Upon completion of the transaction, which is expected to be done by the end of this year, Twitter will become a privately held company.
The National looks at prominent names who are backing the founder and chief executive of Tesla and rocket company SpaceX to acquire Twitter.
Larry Ellison
Texas-based technology titan Oracle’s founder Larry Ellison, who is worth more than $95bn, has committed $1bn to back Mr Musk's bid. Mr Ellison, who also sits on Tesla’s board and is a good friend of Mr Musk, is shelling out the biggest share among the 18 investors. Currently, his share in Tesla is worth more than $14bn, according to Bloomberg.
Binance
The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has committed an investment of $500 million in Mr Musk’s Twitter takeover. Founded in China in 2017, the company has its headquarters in the Cayman Islands and Seychelles. In the past, it has faced increased scrutiny from regulators in the US, UK, Europe and China. It has since taken steps to improve its relationship with the regulators.
Vy Capital
Dubai-based tech investment firm Vy Capital will invest $700m in the Twitter deal. Last month, it also led a $675m funding round in Mr Musk’s lesser-known The Boring Company. The round valued the start-up at $5.7bn.
The tunnelling company is working on a high-speed hyperloop transport system. Last month, it said it is nearing a major milestone.
Sequoia Capital
Another investor in Mr Musk’s Boring Company, California-based venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, has pledged $800m for the Twitter deal. The company’s partner Roelof Botha was the chief financial officer at FinTech firm PayPal when Mr Musk was its chief executive, nearly two decades ago.
“For over two decades, we’ve had a front row seat to Elon’s business and technical prowess, from X.com, which became PayPal, to SpaceX and The Boring Company. We see, as he does, the opportunity to drive meaningful product innovation that will help unlock Twitter’s full potential as a global platform that connects the world,” Sequoia said in a statement.
AH Capital Management
AH Capital Management, the investment adviser of Andreessen Horowitz (A16Z), has committed $400m. Founded in Silicon Valley in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, A16Z is a venture capital firm that backs technology entrepreneurs. It has $28.2bn in assets under management across multiple funds.
Qatar Holding
Qatar Holding, a subsidiary of the Gulf state’s sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority, will invest $375m. Established in 2005, QIA aims “to protect and grow Qatar’s financial assets and to help diversify the economy”, the authority said on its website. Its investments span across major global markets, asset classes, sectors and geographies.
Aliya Capital Partners
Miami-based Aliya Capital Partners has committed $360m. It is currently investing in innovative and disruptive companies including Airbnb, SpaceX, Robinhood, Grab, Brex, Chime, Stripe, Impossible Foods and Paytm, among others.
Brookfield
Toronto-based Brookfield will invest $250m in the Twitter deal. It has nearly $690bn in assets under management across various segments such as real estate, infrastructure, private equity and credit — including through affiliate Oaktree Capital Management.
“We put our own capital to work alongside our partners’ in virtually every transaction, aligning interests and bringing the strengths of our operational expertise, global reach and large-scale capital to bear on everything we do,” it said on its website.
Strauss Capital
Established in 2006, Strauss Capital, is a privately-held investment banking firm. It has committed $150m to Mr Musk. Its clients include established and emerging middle market companies.
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal
Saudi Arabian billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who had earlier opposed Mr Musk’s buyout attempt, agreed to roll over his 34.9 million shares into the deal, according to the Thursday filing. At $54.20 a share, it will be a stake worth about $1.9bn in the microblogging platform.
Prince Alwaleed, who owns a stake in Twitter through his Kingdom Holding Company, had initially said Mr Musk’s offer did not “come close to the intrinsic value of Twitter given its growth prospects”.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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- Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter Katarina
- Petr Fradkov, head of recently sanctioned Promsvyazbank and son of former head of Russian Foreign Intelligence, the FSB.
- Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President of Russia's largest bank VTB. He is the son of Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB which was responsible for the poisoning of political activist Alexey Navalny in August 2020 with banned chemical agent novichok.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
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F1 drivers' standings
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes 281
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 247
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes 222
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull 177
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 138
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull 93
7. Sergio Perez, Force India 86
8. Esteban Ocon, Force India 56
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