X, Elon Musk’s social media company formerly known as Twitter, is in talks to raise money from investors at a US$44 billion (HK$343.2 billion) valuation, according to people familiar with the matter — the same price that Musk paid for the company in 2022.
The funding round would be a remarkable turn of fortunes for the social media giant after Musk’s takeover and overhaul caused many users and advertisers to flee.
Talks for the new X financing round are still ongoing and the details could change, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. The company could also abandon financing talks. This is the first known investment round for the social media company since Musk took it private.
X did not respond to requests for comment.
Musk, who has taken a starring role in the administration of President Donald Trump, has seen his companies’ fortunes gain in recent months. Tesla Inc. shares have climbed more than 40 percent since Trump’s election, and SpaceX’s new US$350 billion valuation makes it the world’s largest tech startup.
Musk has tapped the private markets for billions with recent deals. His artificial intelligence startup, xAI, is also seeking to raise financing, with a valuation that’s gotten a boost in recent weeks. The AI company is canvassing potential investors for a funding round that could value it at about US$75 billion, though the terms are not finalized and could change, people have told Bloomberg News. X has a stake of about US$6 billion in xAI.
In December, prior to the current deal talks, Fidelity Investments had marked down its Twitter stake by about 70 percent from the US$44 billion sale price.
X’s debt has also undergone a recent re-valuation to the upside. Morgan Stanley last week was putting the final touches on the sale of US$3 billion of X debt at no discount to face value, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg. That was after getting more than enough demand from investors — a turnaround from earlier efforts to offload the debt, which were met with hesitation from would-be buyers.
Musk’s close proximity to Trump has altered perceptions of X’s prospects, and some investors are betting his role will serve to advance the interests of his businesses.
Investors who backed Musk’s acquisition include Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital and the Qatar Investment Authority.
BLOOMBERG
