At Twitter Inc’s annual meeting on Wednesday, investors prevented the re-election of an ally of Elon Musk to the board, deflecting attention away from the social media company’s most pressing question: whether it will finalize a $44 billion sale to the billionaire.
Investors rejected Egon Durban, the co-founder of private equity firm Silver Lake, who collaborated with Tesla CEO Elon Musk on the company’s failed quest to go private.
The censure of Durban, who joined the board in 2020, comes as the deal’s future is uncertain.
On May 13, Musk tweeted that the Twitter transaction was “temporarily on hold” as he sought additional information regarding the number of fraudulent accounts on the platform.
Last week, the firm stated that it was committed to the deal at the agreed-upon price, and on Wednesday, it stated that it would not be answering questions about the agreement at the virtual meeting.
“The Twitter board has not embraced Elon Musk and his vision for Twitter. So the fact that his ally has been removed from the board is not surprising,” Kim Forrest, a chief investment officer of Pittsburgh-based Bokeh Capital Partners, agreed.
The board of directors of Twitter initially agreed to adopt a poison pill that would prevent Musk from increasing his share in the firm, but subsequently unanimously agreed to accept his buyout offer.
The vote could suggest shareholder skepticism of Musk’s plan or readiness to pay what he proposed, but investors are anticipated to approve the deal handily at a later meeting.
In their presentations, some shareholders who filed proposals at the meeting addressed Musk personally.
“If you’re listening, Mr. Musk, we hope you’ll join us in voting for this proposal,” said Ethan Peck, an associate at the National Center for Public Policy Research, which requested that Twitter commission a civil rights audit.
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