Typically, the bank sells the debt used for the acquisition and moves on to the next transaction. But according to the Wall Street Journal, “Twitter’s move threatens to stall the shaky LBO pipeline by taking away money Wall Street could have used to back new deals”.
Part of the reason for holding Musk’s debt is that investor interest in it has waned amid heightened recession fears. But that’s partly because of Musk’s capricious approach to the deal.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that if banks tried to sell Twitter debt at current market rates, they could face losses of about $500 million or more. If all banks hold debt, they can set it to a higher book value on the basis that interest rates eventually rebound.
According to reports, the bank also faces a timing issue:
Musk and Twitter have until Oct. 28 to complete his acquisition plans, and there’s still no guarantee the unpredictable billionaire will follow through, or that other troubles won’t arise. (If the deal is not completed by then, the parties will go to court in November). That means banks won’t have enough time to market the debt to third-party investors, a process that often takes weeks, even if they want to sell the debt now.