Elon Musk on Thursday said he had commitments worth $46.5 billion to finance his proposed bid for Twitter and is exploring whether to launch a hostile takeover for the company.

In documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk said he was exploring whether to take his offer directly to Twitter shareholders — a so-called tender offer since it would be without the consent of Twitter’s board and management.

The commitments are a mix of debt and cash. The investment bank Morgan Stanley and a group of other lenders are offering up $13 billion in debt financing and another $12.5 billion in loans against Musk’s Tesla stock. Musk is expected to add about $21 billion in equity financing.

Last week, Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, made an unsolicited offer for the social media company, saying that he wanted to take it private and that he wanted people to be able to speak more freely on the service.

But his offer was regarded sceptically by Wall Street because he did not include details about how he would come up with the money for the deal.

Musk said he would continue to review his investment in Twitter, which could mean buying — or selling — more shares. While Twitter’s board has not rejected Musk’s offer, it responded days later with a defensive tactic known as a “poison pill”.

If Musk bought more than 15 per cent of the company, Twitter would flood the market with new stock that all shareholders except Musk can buy.

The 50-year-old had been building up a stake in the company and owns more than 9 per cent of Twitter, making him at one point its single-biggest individual shareholder.

The mercurial billionaire hinted for days that he planned to make a tender offer.

“Love Me Tender,” he tweeted on Saturday with musical notes — an apparent reference to a ballad made famous by Elvis Presley and a possible allusion to his next move in the takeover fight.

New York Times News Service