Alexander Tamas, a Russian investor, offers Elon Musk financing to buy Twitter

The offer of Elon Musk to acquire Twitter, which has been hit by the billionaire’s threat to withdraw his proposal, has attracted a group of big-name backers and Silicon Valley mainstays. There were some notable exceptions.

At the top of that list is an investment firm based in Dubai whose assets have grown to more than $5 billion under the guidance of its secretive founder alexander tamasaccording to regulatory documents and people familiar with the matter.

Vy Capitalwhose main website consists of one page, without address or contact details, has pledged $700 million to fund Musk’s bid by the social network, making it the third-largest outside equity investor in the deal that siphoned money from billionaire Larry Ellison and Sequoia Capital, securities filings show.

Vy’s ability to help finance one of the largest leveraged buyouts in history, if it goes ahead despite a dispute over fake accounts and botsis remarkable for a company with few public records showing its sources of funding or the nature of its investments.

Vy, whose capital commitment to the $44 billion deal exceeded those of Brookfield Asset Management and Qatar, has also backed companies such as boring and cryptocurrency exchange ErisX, according to data from PitchBook.

Tamas has a history of connecting with big-name investors. Before creating Vy, he worked closely with the Russian-Israeli billionaire Yuri Milner and now he appears to be cultivating ties with Musk. Also invested money in the rocket company SpaceX of the head of Tesla and in the manufacturer of brain machines Neuralink. And, according to LinkedIn, one of Vy’s summer analysts is currently Benjamin Birchall, the son of key Musk aide Jared Birchall.

A representative for Tamas declined to comment. During a recent visit to the firm’s Dubai office, only one assistant was present. She said the rest of the staff, around 10 in the emirate, including Tamas, are working remotely. Worldwide, about 25 people work for the company, according to LinkedIn.

A 2020 document from blank check company Vy Global Growth said that Vy has more than $2 billion in assets under management. Since then, those assets have more than doubled and consist of a limited number of funds with about $1 billion in money to deploy, according to people familiar with the firm’s operations. The sponsors include large US donations, said the people, who asked not to be identified because details are private.