Turnaround Achieved: Twitter Acquisition Loans Sold Without Loss

In a significant shift, banks that financed Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter have successfully sold off a substantial portion of their loans with minimal losses. Initially facing the prospect of selling these loans at steep discounts, the situation has markedly improved.

According to reports, the last tranche of loans, amounting to $4.74 billion, was sold at face value, despite earlier expectations of a sale price of $3 billion. Prior to this, a package valued at $1 billion was sold for approximately 90 to 95 percent of its original value, while another $5.5 billion worth of loans was offloaded for about 97 percent of the purchase price. Consequently, the banks' remaining exposure from the original $13 billion in loans has now decreased to roughly $1 billion.

The turnaround in circumstances can be attributed to improved financial performance from Musk's social media platform, now known as X. In December, the platform reported a 40 percent increase in revenues compared to the previous year and a 21 percent rise from the preceding month. Additionally, the Super Bowl advertising campaign performed better than in 2024. The evolving relationship between Musk and former President Donald Trump has also contributed to this positive outlook, with some investors anticipating benefits while others view a brighter future for X.

There has been a notable resurgence of advertisers returning to the platform, while Musk has taken a firmer stance against those who previously distanced themselves from X. This successful sale of nearly all bank loans represents the latest chapter in the tumultuous journey of Twitter, now X, under Musk's leadership.

When Musk completed the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in late 2022, seven banks collectively provided $13 billion in financing. Typically, such loans are sold off quickly, but the ensuing chaos at Twitter led to a situation where banks would have received only 60 percent of their investment just months ago. For context, prior to this turnaround, loans were projected to be sold at losses ranging from 10 to 20 percent.