Twitter’s board greenlights Musk’s takeover bid
Looks like Elon Musk is buying Twitter after all: The Twitter board has okayed the Tesla boss’ offer to fully acquire the social media platform in an all-cash, USD 44 bn transaction, according to a statement picked up by PR Newswire. Musk will buy the shares at USD 54.20 each — a 38% premium to Twitter’s closing price on April 1 — having secured around USD 25.5 bn in loan financing, with the rest to be paid in equity. The transaction is set to close this year and will turn the social media giant into a privately held company. This comes after the richest man in the world announced his play for Twitter after buying 9% of the firm at the start of April. Musk appears to have won over the Twitter board, which initially said it would adopt a “poison pill” strategy to avert the hostile takeover.
Wall Street bounced back from earlier losses on the news: The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed up 1.3% following the announcement and the S&P 500 rebounded to end up over 1%, while Twitter shares rose 5.6%
Chinese stocks suffer after covid wave reaches Beijing: The benchmark CSI 300 Index closed almost 5% down yesterday, its biggest drop since February 2020, according to one analyst. Chinese currency and commodities markets followed suit, as traders fretted over new lockdown measures introduced in parts of Beijing following a fresh surge in covid cases in the capital. Citywide lockdowns in manufacturing center Shanghai have shuttered factories and dented the Chinese economy in recent weeks.
Other things we’re keeping an eye on this morning:
- UAE looks to build local bond market: The UAE will begin selling AED-denominated T-bonds for the first time in May, with a sale worth AED 1.5 bn, as the country looks to build a local-currency bond market and diversify its sources of funding. (Statement)
- Crypto exchange Kraken is the latest industry player to announce it will set up regional headquarters in the UAE and has received a license to operate the first trading platform that allows BTC trading in AED. (CNBC)
|
|
EGX30 |
10,548 |
+1.0% (YTD: -11.7%) |
|
|
USD (CBE) |
Buy 18.51 |
Sell 18.60 |
|
|
USD at CIB |
Buy 18.53 |
Sell 18.60 |
|
|
Interest rates CBE |
9.25% deposit |
10.25% lending |
|
|
Tadawul |
13,543 |
+0.6% (YTD: +20.1%) |
|
|
ADX |
10,043 |
-0.9% (YTD: +18.3%) |
|
|
DFM |
3,654 |
-0.8% (YTD: +14.3%) |
|
|
S&P 500 |
4,296 |
+0.6% (YTD: -9.9%) |
|
|
FTSE 100 |
7,381 |
-1.9% (YTD: -0.1%) |
|
|
Euro Stoxx 50 |
3,758 |
-2.2% (YTD: -12.6%) |
|
|
Brent crude |
USD 102.67 |
+0.3% |
|
|
Natural gas (Nymex) |
USD 6.88 |
+3.2% |
|
|
Gold |
USD 1,901.10 |
+0.3% |
|
|
BTC |
USD 40,209.64 |
+1.5% (as of midnight) |
THE CLOSING BELL-
The EGX30 rose 1.0% during Thursday’s session on turnover of EGP 968 mn (6.3% above the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is down 11.7% YTD.
In the green: Madinet Nasr (+6.6%), Ezz Steel (+5.3%) and EFG Hermes (+4.8%).
In the red: CIRA (-2.7%), Eastern Company (-1.8%) and Misr Fertilizers (-0.8%).