Elon Musk Confirm Buying Twitter For $44 billion
On Monday, April 25, Twitter announced that its board of directors had accepted billionaire Elon Musk’s bid to buy the social media business and take it private.
In a statement included in the press release announcing the $44 billion deal, Musk said, “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy.
Hence, Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated.”
“I also want to make Twitter better than it has ever been by adding new features, opening up the algorithms to increase trust, combating spam bots, and authenticating all humans.”
Twitter has enormous potential, and I’m excited to work with the company and the Twitter community to realize it.”
According to the press announcement, the cash deal for $54.20 per share is worth roughly $44 billion. Once the purchase is completed, Twitter will become a private firm.
After the transaction closes, Twitter stockholders will get $54.20 in cash for each share of Twitter common stock they possess.
The purchase price is 38% higher than the business’s closing price on April 1, the day before Musk said he had acquired a 9% interest in the company.
Musk stated that he intended to make Twitter “better than ever” by adding new features, opening up its algorithms, eliminating bots, and authenticating “all humans.”
“Twitter has immense potential,” he concluded, “and I look forward to working with the company and the Twitter community.”
After Musk first made his offer for the platform on April 14, Twitter released a poison pill to prevent him from amassing a significant stake in the company.
However, after he revealed a $46.5 billion financing package for the acquisition over the weekend, the board was obliged to negotiate.
Twitter chair Bret Taylor said, “The Twitter Board underwent a thoughtful and extensive process to analyze Elon’s proposal with a deliberate focus on value, clarity, and finance.”
“The proposed acquisition will provide a significant cash premium, and we believe it is the best path ahead for Twitter’s stockholders,” he continued.
The acquisition, if finalized, would be one of the largest leveraged buyouts ever.
Republicans hope that the agreement will allow Donald Trump to return to the platform after he was banned for repeatedly breaking the network’s hate speech and disinformation guidelines.
“I hope even my worst critics stay on Twitter, since that is what free expression entails,” Musk said earlier on Monday.