Forager Funds International Equity Fund co-portfolio manager Garrett Brough has written a candid op-ed airing Twitter’s dirty laundry and his serious displeasure with the platform’s management, and appears to be reaching out to the platform’s new owner, Musk.

Under the headline ‘Twitter – the one that got away’, Mr Brown argued the platform was severely undervalued with a “wide gap” between fair value based on today’s management and what the business would be worth under “ideal management” and performance’.

Twitter is a unit in the Forager International Shares Fund.

Mr Brown told the media last week that Musk's offer of US$54.20 a share was "probably a fair price for Twitter as it is executed today". And while he thinks he's underestimating Twitter, as "it could and should be," he's partly relieved.

"A problem was taken off my hands for a decent premium, and at a time when opportunities abound," he said.

"Executing Twitter's difficult turnaround after years of underperforming while paying out huge, undeserved fortunes to staff through stock-based compensation? That's somebody else's problem now,” added Mr Brown.

But Mr Brown also revealed his deep disillusionment with Twitter's board and named him as the chief responsible for Twitter's untapped potential.

What's more, he criticized the board for not doing much to "bleed" the new owner to pay the old owners for all that unused potential.

Addressing Musk, Mr Brown said that while the Tesla chief executive had bought Twitter for a platform to bring free speech to the world, "he's also going to make huge profits".

"Probably hundreds of billions of dollars," Mr. Brown said.

"Unfortunately, our own investors will see almost none of it."

But despite a hint of resentment at the fortune Musk is set to amass, Mr Brown said he was "very interested" in the new owner's plans for the platform and for free speech.

"I prefer too much talk to too little," added Mr. Brown.

On Monday, Twitter confirmed it had agreed to be acquired by Elon Musk for approximately US$44 billion ($61.4 billion).

Twitter's independent chairman, Brett Taylor, added that the proposed transaction would provide a "significant" cash premium and said it was the best way forward for shareholders.

Maja Garatsa Djurdjevic

Maya's career in journalism spans more than a decade in finance, business and politics. Already an experienced editor and reporter in all elements of the financial services sector, before joining Momentum Media, Maya reported for several established news outlets in South East Europe, looking at key processes in post-conflict societies.