NEW YORK: The special committee for Tesla’s board of directors has hired Joele Frank for communications support.
An agency representative confirmed the relationship, but declined to comment further. A Tesla representative wasn’t immediately available for comment.
A week after Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that he had secured funding to take Tesla private, the electric car company said in a statement that independent directors Brad Buss, Robyn Denholm, and Linda Johnson Rice would evaluate the proposal.
For legal counsel, the special committee turned to Latham & Watkins. It will hire an independent financial adviser to review a formal proposal. Separately, Tesla has retained law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.
Musk’s surprise announcement on August 7 briefly made Tesla’s stock soar, but it soon raised questions from the Securities and Exchanges Commission. Federal investigators are probing whether Musk had a factual basis for his tweet, sending a subpoena seeking information from each board member.
At $420 per share, the $70 billion deal would be the largest corporate buyout ever.
Since the tweet, Musk was interviewed by The New York Times, lamenting the personal toll the past year has taken on him. YouTuber Marques Brownlee has also interviewed Musk
Joele Frank was previously retained by a special committee of Solar City’s board, which was formed to evaluate a takeover proposal from Tesla.
