Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) received a round of applause after he suggested Florida will take steps to respond to Twitter’s board adopting a “poison pill” to make it harder for Tesla CEO Elon Musk to buy the company.
During an event on Tuesday, DeSantis said, “The state of Florida, in our pension system, we have shares of Twitter.”
“I didn’t buy it, we have people who run the fund, but nevertheless, it hasn’t exactly been great on returns on investment. It’s been pretty stagnant for many, many years,” he continued.
Finally, he said, “To me, I think that’s probably an injury to the fund. So we’re gonna be looking at ways that the state of Florida potentially can be holding these Twitter board of directors accountable for breaching their fiduciary duty.”
The crowd broke out in applause.
“So stay tuned on that,” DeSantis added.
Watch the video below:
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) threatens Twitter after it activated “poison pill” plan to prevent Elon Musk’s acquisition:
— The Recount (@therecount) April 19, 2022
“We’re gonna be looking at ways the state of Florida potentially can be holding these Twitter board of directors accountable for breaching their fiduciary duty.” pic.twitter.com/55OFO90AjJ
On Thursday morning, Musk revealed that he made an offer to buy Twitter.
In a letter to the chairman of the board of Twitter, he wrote, “I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy.”
“However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company,” he went on.
The businessman offered to buy “100% of Twitter for $54.20 per share,” which he said was his “best and final offer.” Additionally, he said if it is “not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder.”
Earlier this month, he acquired a 9.2% stake in the company.
However, on Friday, Twitter’s board adopted a so-called “poison pill” in an effort to make it harder for Musk to buy the company.
As CBS News reports, “The plan will go into effect if any person or group buys at least 15% of Twitter’s stock in a purchase that is not approved by its board.”
“If triggered by such a purchase, the plan would give other shareholders the right to buy additional shares of Twitter’s stock at a discount, which would then dilute the value of Musk’s shares. That would effectively reduce the control that Musk could gain through share purchases,” it added.
The move would not prevent the board from accepting an acquisition deal if it “is in the best interests of Twitter and its shareholders.”
Musk said at the TED22 conference last week that he has a “plan B” if his offer to accept Twitter was not accepted.