Elon Musk must raise significantly more cash to finance his $44bn takeover of Twitter after allowing a $6.25bn margin loan commitment backed by his shares of electric carmaker Tesla to lapse.
After ditching the margin loan, the amount of equity that Musk must secure to complete the deal now stands at $33.5bn, according to a regulatory filing from him on Wednesday.
It is the latest twist in his effort to buy Twitter. Earlier this month, the Tesla chief executive fuelled speculation that he was planning to walk away from the deal after claiming it “cannot move forward” until the social media company provides proof of the number of fake accounts. He later added he was “still committed to [the] acquisition” but indicated he may want to renegotiate the takeover price.