Elon Musk secures $7.1 billion in new financing for Twitter deal

Elon Musk has secured about $7.1 billion from former Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, a Saudi prince, and Sequoia Capital to fund his proposed $44-billion acquisition of Twitter, according to media reports.

The Tesla CEO is arranging capital for the biggest takeover in the tech industry by receiving equity commitments from 19 investors.

Musk, the world’s richest man, had previously stated that he intended to fund the transaction in part with a $12.5 billion loan secured against his shares in Tesla, the US-based electric carmaker founded in 2003.

Musk will be able to cut the size of his margin loan by half, to $6.25 billion, making the transaction less risky for both himself and his lenders.

Musk also intends to serve as Twitter's chief executive officer, at least temporarily, according to a report by CNBC.

According to an amended securities filing on Thursday, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of the board at Kingdom Holding Company, made the largest contribution, agreeing to pledge nearly 35 million shares worth $1.9 billion in Twitter to hold a stake in the company following Musk's takeover.

“I believe you will be an excellent leader for Twitter to propel and maximise its great potential,” tweeted Alwaleed.

Ellison, the 77-year-old co-founder of Oracle, a software company, and a member of Tesla's board of directors, is bringing in $1 billion as part of the new funding lined up by Musk.

Binance Holdings, the world's largest crypto exchange, Brookfield Asset Management, Fidelity Management & Research, and Qatar Holding are among the other investors listed in the filing on Thursday.

Traditional asset managers, VC firms, boutique hedge funds, and one of the world's largest pools of capital are among Musk's latest backers. 

Qatar Holding, a subsidiary of Qatar's wealth fund, has reportedly committed $375 million to Elon Musk for his acquisition.