Earlier today, reports suggested that the Twitter board would likely accept Elon Musk’s offer to buy the company outright for $44 billion. The company has accepted the offer and the tycoon will be the new owner once the deal is closed by the end of the year.
Businessman Elon Musk first became the largest shareholder in the microblogging platform when he purchased 9.2 percent of the company. In the weeks that followed, he polled users about whether they would like to have an Edit button for tweets or not. He was also set to join the company’s board to make the requisite changes for maintaining “freedom of speech.”
Unexpectedly, Twitter CEO Parag Agarwal announced that Musk would not be joining the company’s board. Musk then made an offer to buy Twitter at $54.20 per share. Following weeks of speculation and deliberation, the Twitter board agreed to accept the tycoon’s “best and final” offer to take the company private. Twitter says that the proposal was “unanimously approved” by its board of directors.
Agarwal 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.”
In a statement following the revelation of the purchase, Musk said that he plans to use new features to combat spambots and make Twitter “better than ever.”
“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,” said Mr. Musk. “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.”
I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 25, 2022
The deal is expected to close by the end of 2022, and once it is done, Twitter will be a privately held company. What do you think of this acquisition? Tell us in the comments section below!
