The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Delaware’s Attorney General is hiring an investment firm to advise on OpenAI’s for-profit conversion. The independent evaluation may prolong the transition or sabotage OpenAI’s plans.
OpenAI will benefit from its conversion by attracting new investment. It can then go public. But first, it must get approval from state regulators. OpenAI and Microsoft hired their own investment bankers to advise them on the deal. However, Delaware’s Attorney General is now requesting an independent evaluation of how much equity OpenAI’s nonprofit organization will receive.
Regulators appear to be focusing on a key element in OpenAI’s conversion. This could have a significant impact on the price OpenAI pays to simplify its organization. Corporate governance experts believe Elon Musk could have increased the price of OpenAI’s nonprofit when he made a $97.4 Billion takeover bid, despite OpenAI rejecting it.
