Elon Musk to buy Twitter in $44 billion deal

The deal, which will take the company private, caps off a whirlwind period in which the Tesla and SpaceX CEO became one of Twitter’s largest shareholders, was offered and turned down a seat on its board and bid to buy the company — all in less than a month.

The deal will see shareholders receive $54.20 cash per share of Twitter stock. This is Musk’s original offer. It also marks a 38% premium to the stock price on the day Musk announced his ownership.

Musk released a Monday statement stating that “free speech is the cornerstone of democracy.” “Twitter has tremendous potential — I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”

It is anticipated that the deal will close in 2015. This deal comes just weeks after Musk announced that he has secured $46.5 billion of financing for the acquisition. It is an evident turning point which forced Twitter’s board into serious consideration. Monday’s meeting saw Musk’s offer be evaluated by the board.

Bret Taylor, Twitter’s independent board chair, said that “The Twitter Board carried out a thoughtful, comprehensive process to examine Elon’s proposal with an intentional focus on value certainty and financing.” He also called the deal “the best way forward for Twitter’s stockholders.”

The Twitter stock rose nearly 6 percent after the announcement. It hovered around $51.84, just below the offer price. Approval from regulators and shareholders is required for the deal to go ahead.

Parag Agrawal, Twitter’s CEO and founder stated that he will hold an all-hands meeting on Monday with Taylor to address any questions regarding the deal. He said, “I understand this is a major change. You’re probably processing what it means for you as well as Twitter’s future.”

Twitter: What Musk is trying to communicate

Musk is both an influential and controversial Twitter user. Musk has over 83 million Twitter followers. He uses the platform to share memes, discuss his companies, insult politicians and make offensive comments about transgender people.

Musk repeatedly stated in recent days his desire to increase free speech and unlock Twitter’s “extraordinary potential”

Musk stated Monday that he wanted to make Twitter “better than ever” by adding new features to the platform, making algorithms open-source to improve trust, eliminating spambots and authenticating everyone. In a separate tweet, Musk said Monday that even his worst critics will be on Twitter. This is free speech.

Some industry professionals worry Musk’s wish for freedom of speech on Twitter might mean that some of its work to combat hate speech and misinformation could be reversed. Other people wondered whether Musk could restore an account belonging to former President Donald Trump that was deleted in the wake of …read more

Source:: Social Media Explorer