Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk’s contemplated $72 billion take-private deal is presenting investment bankers with a dilemma: overlook concerns about how feasible it is or risk missing out on what could be this year’s biggest and most high-profile acquisition
Musk did not just catch investors and analysts off guard earlier this month by announcing on Twitter he was considering taking the U.S. electric car maker private. He also sent shockwaves throughout the investment banking world, which reacted to the news with both excitement and bewilderment.
This is because no company of Tesla’s size has ever been taken private by financial investors as Musk has suggested, as opposed to being acquired by a bigger company. Moreover, the standard method of doing so, saddling the company with debt in a so-called leveraged buyout, is not an option for Tesla given that is already servicing a debt mountain of some $11 billion and is not making any money. It reported an operating loss in 2017 of $1.6 billion...
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