Twitter’s board has accepted an offer from billionaire Elon Musk to buy the social media company and take it private, the company announced on Monday, April 25.
The stock closed up 5.64% for the day after it was halted by the news.
Musk said in a statement included in the press release announcing the $44 billion deal,
“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.”
The cash deal at $54.20 per share is valued at around $44 billion, according to the press release. Twitter would become a private company on completion of the deal, which requires shareholder and regulatory approval.
The announcement ends a weekslong saga Musk kicked off when he disclosed the large stake in the company. Soon after the company said he would join the board, only for Musk reverse course on that plan several days later.
Then, he offered to buy the company at $54.20 per share, his “best and final.” That offer valued Twitter at about $43 billion.
Under the terms of the agreement, Twitter stockholders will receive $54.20 in cash for each share of Twitter common stock that they own upon closing the proposed transaction. The purchase price represents a 38% premium to Twitter’s closing stock price on April 1, 2022, which was the last trading day before Mr. Musk disclosed his approximately 9% stake in Twitter.
Musk said he wanted to make Twitter “better than ever” by introducing new features, making its algorithms open-source, stamping out bots, and authenticating “all humans”.
He added: “Twitter has tremendous potential — I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”
Bret Taylor, Twitter’s Independent Board Chair, said, “The Twitter Board conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon’s proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty, and financing. The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter’s stockholders.”
Parag Agrawal, Twitter’s CEO, said, “Twitter has a purpose and relevance that impacts the entire world. Deeply proud of our teams and inspired by the work that has never been more important.”
Republicans are hopeful that the deal could pave the way for Donald Trump to return to the platform after the former president was banned for repeatedly breaching its rules around hate speech and misinformation.
“I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter because that is what free speech means,” Musk tweeted earlier on Monday.
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