Confused by Musk’s Twitter LBO? Here’s What’s Weird: QuickTake

What’s the easiest way to buy something? With other people’s money. That’s the key to almost all of the leveraged buyouts (LBOs) that have dominated mergers and acquisitions for a generation. Elon Musk’s $44 billion planned takeover of Twitter has had many twists and turns, but after spending months trying to get out of the deal, as of Oct. 3 the billionaire head of Tesla Inc. is now once again moving forward with the acquisition, which could close as soon as late October. While his take-private of Twitter is an LBO, it differs from most in several important respects. ...