Considered one of the world’s biggest deals in the tech world, billionaire Elon Musk has taken control of Twitter. The board of Twitter has agreed to a $44bn takeover offer from the Tesla CEO.
The biggest deal in the tech world
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk had announced his takeover bid on April 14, calling it his ‘best and final offer’. He agreed to buy Twitter Inc for $44 billion cash, using one of the biggest leveraged buyout deals in history to take private a 16-year-old social networking platform that has become a hub of public speech and a flashpoint in the debate over online free speech.
The World’s richest man, who made the shocking bid less than two weeks ago, said Twitter had “tremendous potential” that he would unlock. He also called for a string of changes from relaxing its content restrictions to eradicating fake accounts.
“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated. I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spambots, and authenticating all humans. Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it,” Musk said in a press statement.
??♥️ Yesss!!! ♥️?? pic.twitter.com/0T9HzUHuh6
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 25, 2022
The negotiation
The bid initially saw Twitter uncertain and called it a hostile takeover. However, once Musk announced that he had confirmed funding, the board went into negotiations with the Tesla co-founder. According to sources, Musk had met “privately with several shareholders of the company to praise the integrity of his proposal” and also made video calls to them to push for his case.
Talks over the deal, which last week appeared skeptical, accelerated over the weekend after Musk wooed Twitter shareholders with financing details of his offer. Under pressure, Twitter started negotiating with Musk to buy the company at his proposed $54.2 per share price.
Investors will receive $54.2 for each Twitter share they own, the company said in a statement Monday. The price is 38% more than the stock’s close on April 1, the last business day before Musk disclosed a significant stake in the company, sparking a share rally.
Earlier today, Musk had posted on his Twitter account, “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter because that is what free speech means.”
I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 25, 2022
