They own about 13,171,000 shares currently, about 7.7% of Tesla.
His exact statement is:
James Anderson, a leading fund manager at the Edinburgh-based Baillie Gifford, which owns $4 billion worth of Tesla stock, told The Times that while the company’s prospects were uncertain, its value was “much higher than $420 a share, probability-adjusted”.
and:
In a series of communications following the initial tweet, Musk told Tesla shareholders who wanted to stay invested in the firm that they could do so through a private special purpose fund.
However, Anderson indicated this could be a problem for his trust. 'It’s not clear that most of our clients could own [Tesla] privately, though it would be fine for Scottish Mortgage,' he said.
I'm wondering what his main concern is:
- If he's worried about whether his clients can keep their Tesla shares, then Tesla could create some sort of investment vehicle directly in the UK, which would make it easier. They could do something similar in the EU as well, to help European shareholders who bought through Frankfurt keep their shares.
- If he's worried about the $420 valuation, then I'm not sure what his argument is: new investors today can already purchase TSLA shares for $350. What Anderson thinks about valuation makes little difference if he doesn't want to sell - in fact he should be happy that bought out investors are paid less than what he thinks the stock is worth. I.e. his valuation argument only makes sense if he's worried that he has to cash out.
- If Anderson genuinely believes that Tesla will perform better as a public company then he has not voiced that opinion so far, AFAICS.
I.e. I believe
he wants to stay on board and is worried that the (U.S.-centric) SPF set up by Tesla won't allow him to do that.
I.e. it looks more like a negotiation position and "think of UK shareholders!" shout-out than a genuine "no" vote.
I'm also wondering why he did this publicly and not in private. I suspect when Anderson is calling then Elon picks up the phone.
