Banks that helped Elon Musk finance his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, have successfully sold a chunk of their acquisition debt in the company, indicating surging investor confidence amid the Tesla tycoon’s outsize role in the Trump administration.
According to US media, including Bloomberg and the New York Times, banks this week sold $4.7 billion of X’s acquisition debt at face value, exceeding their initial $3 billion target.
This was the third sale in recent weeks from the banks that had been stuck with $13 billion of debt from Musk’s controversial buyout.
A week ago, the Financial Times said a sale led by Morgan Stanley unloaded a total of $5.5 billion at a small discount of 97 cents on the dollar.
According to the financial daily, a similar billion-dollar operation was carried out in January.
The sales followed reports from just months ago that lenders were struggling to offload the debt amid concerns that Musk’s stewardship of the platform — and shifting it politically to the right — was a money-loser.
The company told investors, according to the New York Times, that its revenue, mainly from advertising but also including subscriptions, jumped 21 percent in December from the month before.
The company reportedly saw a 40 percent revenue increase last year from the year before, bolstered by premium subscriptions and data licensing deals with Musk’s AI venture, xAI.
Contacted by AFP, Bank of America and Societe Generale declined to comment, while Morgan Stanley and BNP Paribas had no immediate response.
The company’s improved financial position comes as Musk has taken on a central advisory role in President Trump’s administration, where he is leading a government efficiency initiative.
X has become a key communication platform for the administration, which took office on January 20, with Musk’s account reaching over 217 million followers.
According to the Times, major advertisers including Amazon and Apple have returned to the platform after previously departing over the site’s lack of content moderation.
However, some advertisers’ return to the platform may be influenced by concerns about potential retribution, as Musk has expanded a lawsuit against several major brands and advertising industry groups who stopped spending on X.
