Musk, Thoma Bravo May Partner on Twitter Takeover

Elon Musk is in talks to partner with private equity firm Thoma Bravo on his bid to take over Twitter, The New York Post reports, citing two sources close to the deal.

Thoma Bravo, a Chicago-based buyout firm specializing in technology, may be integral to Musk moving forward with the buyout, as he does not want to foot the entire bill, the sources said. Musk reportedly is willing to spend between $10 billion and $15 billion to buy Twitter.

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Thursday, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO indicated he has secured $46.5 billion in financing for the deal, primarily through Morgan Stanley.

"What it would take Musk to raise the equity — like selling his Tesla shares — is something he probably doesn't want to do," one of the sources told The Post.

Musk has had very little difficultly raising cash for his ventures, including SpaceX, one of the sources said.

Thoma Bravo was reportedly interested in making a bid of its own for the social media giant, independent of Musk's overture, as are a growing number of other private equity firms. Thoma Bravo reportedly sees many cost-saving areas at Twitter ripe for cutting.