Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter Inc., has offered stock grants to the workers of the social media business valued at close to $20 billion, the Information reported on Saturday, citing a source familiar with an email Musk addressed to Twitter employees, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
The reported valuation indicates a decline in Twitter’s value as it is less than half of the $44 billion that Musk paid to acquire the social media network.
A request for comment from BreezyScroll through email did not receive a prompt response from Twitter.
According to Musk’s prediction made in December, Twitter will “roughly cash flow break-even” in 2023 as big advertisers cut their spending on the social media network following the billionaire’s acquisition.
“I see a clear, but difficult, path to a >$250B valuation”: Musk
In a message to staff members, Musk voiced hope for the future of the social media company. He implied that shares awarded now would be worth ten times more by saying, “I see a clear, but difficult, path to a >$250B valuation.”
Twitter, according to Musk, is undergoing changes so quickly that it “can be thought of as an inverse startup.” He said in the email that major changes were necessary, in part to keep Twitter from going bankrupt.
In a separate email issued to the team on Friday, the company informed its personnel that it is offering extra equity grants to employees, which will start to vest after six months. The company also stated that it would hold a liquidity event in about a year during which time workers would be able to sell some of their ownership. But it should be noted that there was no information on how many employees will get equity awards.
According to regulatory filings, Twitter had spent roughly $630 million on stock-based compensation in 2021, the last full year it publicly declared financial results before going private.