A potential deal to take Tesla Inc. private would be by far the largest buyout in history.
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk roiled markets on Tuesday, tweeting he was “considering” taking the Silicon Valley car maker private at $420 a share. At that share price, a buyout would cost about $72 billion, excluding debt.
See also: Tesla confirms intention to go private, sending stock up 11%
Tesla’s TSLA, +10.99% market value on Tuesday stood at $62 billion; the company has about $10 billion in debt.
The stock ended 11% higher at $379.57 on Tuesday, its best since its Sept. 18 record close of $385.
Tesla on Tuesday posted on its website an email from Musk to employees where he expanded on the idea of taking the company public.
A final decision has not yet been made, but the goal would be “creating the environment for Tesla to operate best,” he wrote.
See also: Elon Musk explained his going-private tweet to Tesla employees with this email
A Tesla buyout would far outstrip the current record for leveraged buyouts, the $32 billion deal to buy electric utility TXU Corp. in 2007.
That company, renamed Energy Future Holdings Corp., filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2014.
Here are the 15 largest leveraged buyouts in history, according to Dealogic:
Date Deal Value (in USD, excluding debt) Company Buyer Feb. 26, 2007 31.8 billion TXU Corp. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co - KKR; Texas Pacific Group Apr. 2, 2007 26.4 billion First Data Corp. KKR May 21, 2007 25.7 billion ALLTEL Corp. TPG Capital LP; GS Capital Partners LP Feb. 14, 2013 23.6 billion HJ Heinz Co. Berkshire Hathaway Inc., 3G Capital Inc. Nov. 20, 2006 22.9 billion Equity Office Properties Blackstone Real Estate Partners LP Feb. 5, 2013 21.1 billion Dell Inc. (84.66%) Silver Lake Group LLC July 24, 2006 20.1 billion HCA Inc. Bain Capital LLC, Thomas H Lee Partners LP July 3, 2007 20.2 billion Hilton Hotels Corp. Blackstone Group LP March 30, 2007 18.5 billion Alliance Boots plc (85.01%) KKR; AB Acquisitions Ltd. Nov. 16, 2006 17.8 billion Clear Channel Communications Inc. Bain Capital LLC, Thomas H Lee Partners LP March 17, 2006 17.8 billion BAA plc Grupo Ferrovial SA; Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec-CDPQ; GIC Special Investments Pte Ltd; Airport Development & Investment Ltd Sep. 15, 2006 17.6 billion Freescale Semiconductor Inc. Blackstone Group; Carlyle Group; Permira Ltd; Texas Pacific Group Oct. 2, 2006 16.8 billion Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. Apollo Management LP; Texas Pacific Group May 29, 2006 14.6 billion Kinder Morgan Inc. GS Capital Partners; AIG Global Asset Management Holdings Corp.; Carlyle Group; Riverstone Holdings May 29, 2007 14 billion Archstone-Smith Trust Tishman Speyer Properties; Lehman Brothers Private EquityTesla shares have gained 22% this year, which compares with gains of 7% for the S&P 500 SPX, +0.28% and 3.7% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. DJIA, +0.50%