Twitter has accepted Elon Musk’s buyout offer. Musk is purchasing the social media giant for $54.20 per share, or about $44 billion. Musk is taking the company private, as expected.
The decision comes after a flurry of activity from Musk. The Tesla CEO bought a 9.2 percent share of Twitter in early April following criticism of the social media firm’s free speech policies. He argued Twitter was falling short of its duties as a “de facto public town square.” Twitter quickly said Musk would join its board of directors, but the tech executive decided against the move days later. While he didn’t say why he had second thoughts, the board appointment would have prevented him from owning more than 14.9 percent of the company — he couldn’t have taken control during his term.
Twitter was initially cautious and adopted a “poison pill” share strategy to prevent a hostile takeover. However, it reportedly gave Musk’s final offer a second look this weekend. The two sides are believed to have hashed out finer details at the last minute, such as financial guarantees if the purchase falls apart. In its announcement, Twitter said it agreed to the buyout after a review process that concentrated on “value, certainty and financing.”
Musk still faces problems following this decision, including the SEC’s insider trading investigation and a class action lawsuit accusing him of stiffing shareholders through the timing of his Twitter investment disclosure.
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. https://t.co/5iNTtJoEHf
— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) April 25, 2022
Developing…