When Elon Musk Bought x for $ 44 billion In 2022, more than a quarter of them were financed by loans from banks including Morgan Stanley. Banks usually sell such loans quickly, but in this case they maintained a large part of this debt because investors were reluctant to bet on paying in social media.
Mr. Musk’s newly found power in the administration of President Trump has helped to change the minds of investors.
On Thursday, the banks sold about $ 4.7 billion dollars X, according to two people who are familiar with the transaction, more than $ 3 billion they originally intended to sell.
Mr. Musk, who became a close counselor of the President and operates the Government Initiative, faced growing questions about whether companies that lead – including the electric car manufacturer Tesla and Rocket Company SpaceX – are – are He benefits from his position Like Mr. Trump’s true man.
X has become a platform for information on the administration plans that Mr. Musk broadcasts on his account by more than 217 million followers. Advertisers returned in a flock to X, people who are familiar with shops, which supports income. The company told investors that its income in December jumped 21 percent of the month earlier, the person with the knowledge of finance said.
Speakers X and Morgan Stanley refused to express themselves. Bloomberg previously reported revenue jump and Details of the transaction.
The sale of debt – which at the time of the acquisition was $ 12.5 billion – helps Mr. Muska and banks who have been saddled with him for two years. Only two months ago, investors negotiated to buy this debt with a loss of 10 to 20 percent for the banks, one person involved in the discussion said.
However, the investor’s taste has shifted drastically. Last week, banks sold a debt of $ 5.5 billion to a small group of investors, people said familiar with the transaction. This month they bought capital partners from the average debt of $ 1 billion. Banks have now sold almost all their x debt and remained about $ 1 billion on their balance sheet.
Investors were motivated to buy debt X for several factors, including improving the company’s income. Advertisers like Amazon and Apple returned after escaping Above Mr. Musk’s controversial actions They said three of the people involved in discussions.
Revenue x last year increased by 40 percent Asmal 2023The person who is familiar with the company’s finances said. More subscribers pay for the premium service X and artificial intelligence Mr. Musk XAI pays X for the license of their data, people who are familiar with the X trade.
“It seems that more businesses are coming than it has in the last two years,” wrote Brett Weitz, the X -content manager, in January in January he saw The New York Times.
He joined the Super Bowl last Sunday and the company was ready to earn $ 7.9 million in related advertising income, which slightly exceeded $ 7.2 million from the 2024 event, according to the internal document that The Times saw.
The extensive measures of the company’s cost, including the reduction of employees by more than 80 percent, also referred to investors, people said.
Fortuny X – financially and politically – has improved because Mr. Musk has joined with Mr. Trump, three people said familiar with the transaction.
And while people familiar with the agreement stated that investors did not expect to lend money with Mr. Musk, they saw the future of his society so clearer when he was the core of the government. They also said they believe that Mr. Musk’s new role meant that money would be more likely to be returned.
Some advertisers who have recently returned to X were worried about the impacts from the advocacy groups, if they support the company, three advertisers in advertising who were not entitled to publicly talk about this matter. Others feared potential retribution from Mr. Musk unless they came back.
Last year, Mr. Musk sued several large brands and global alliances for the responsible media, the non -profit coalition of the main advertisers led by the world advertisers, and claimed that the group organized a boycott against the X. Garm turned off Days after the lawsuit, but Mr. Musk continued to push his case against the advertisers. This month, his lawyers added several companies, including LEGO, Nestlé and Shell.
Mr. Musk’s ties to the White House could help his other businesses. Weeks after Mr. Trump was elected, the executives in Palantir were sent by engineers and asked to use only Grok, Chatbot AI proposed by XAI Musk, two Palantira employees said. It was the first time the company asked them to use Grok through other chatbots.
Palantira spokesman refused to comment.
Ryan Mac and Sheer Frenkel The report contributed.
