An activist investment vehicle led by a billionaire political donor has purchased a stake in Twitter – and plans to “push for changes” including the ouster of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, according to reports.
Elliott Management, led by major US Republican donor Paul Singer, bought a “sizable stake” in the social media platform, Bloomberg News reported this weekend. Singer, who opposed Donald Trump’s 2016 White House run before joining the President’s support, “plans to push for changes at the social media company, including replacing Dorsey.”
Dorsey, who also leads payment firm Square, has come under criticism in recent months for a lack of innovation at Twitter, while announcing personal plans including a pledge to spend up to six months each year working in Africa.
Despite Twitter reporting revenues of $1.01 billion in the last quarter of 2019—the first ten-figure report in its near-14-year history—Dorsey has come under fire for helming a hugely popular service whose share price has fallen 6.2% since his 2015 reinstatement as chief executive. Facebook’s value has leapt 121% in the same time.
Unlike his Facebook counterpart Mark Zuckerberg, Dorsey does not have voting control over Twitter. That makes him a prime target for activist investors. And in Elliott, Twitter has one that is notoriously aggressive. Earlier last month it announced a stake in Japan’s SoftBank, and said it plans to push for governance changes. In 2016 the firm even arranged a partial repayment of debts owed by the country of Argentina.