Elon Musk considering raising $3 billion to pay off Twitter debt: report

Elon Musk’s team is studying raising up to US$ 3 billion (R$ 15.3 billion) in new funding to help pay part of the US$ 13 billion (R$ 66.4 billion) in debt related to the acquisition of Twitter, reported the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday (25), citing people familiar with the matter.

According to the report, Musk’s representatives discussed selling up to $3 billion of new Twitter shares in December.

Twitter did not immediately respond to a Reuters agency request for comment. Responding to whether the WSJ report was credible, Musk said “no” in a tweet.

Musk, who is also chief executive of electric car maker Tesla, borrowed $13 billion to close Twitter’s October acquisition of a syndicate of banks including Morgan Stanley and Bank of America.

Musk’s team told people familiar with the company’s finances that a capital raise, if successful, could be used to pay off an unsecured portion of the debt that carries the highest interest rate within the $100 loan package. 13 billion from Twitter, the report added.

Partnership will provide tweet analytics to advertisers

Twitter and Integral Ad Science, a digital ad verification company, will work together to provide advertisers with analytics on the content of tweets displayed alongside their ads.

“Marketers are looking for confidence to continue investing in Twitter and eventually grow their investment in Twitter,” said Craig Ziegler, Senior Vice President of Product Management at Integral Ad Science.

The IAS will also provide advertisers with “brand safety” measures, an industry term for protecting your online reputation and evaluating content close to an ad.

Musk has struggled to retain many companies as customers, including General Motors and United Airlines, which had paused or dropped advertising on the platform.

Many advertisers, including Dyson, Mazda, Forbes and PBS Kids, have suspended their marketing campaigns or removed their ads from parts of Twitter because their promotions appeared alongside tweets soliciting child pornography.