Update: Twitter has shared a press release confirming that Elon Musk has succeeded in acquiring the social media company. Upon completion of the transaction, which is valued at approximately $44 billion, Twitter will revert to a privately held company.
“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,” Musk said in a statement. “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 spam bots, and authenticating all humans. Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”
Original Story:
Twitter is extremely close to accepting Elon Musk’s lucrative offer to buy the social media company for $43 billion in cash, according to a new report from Reuters. The deal, which is worth around $54.20 per share, could be announced as early as today. Twitter had initiated a limited-duration shareholder rights plan (a “poison pill”) a day after its board learned of Musk’s intent, but it appears that wasn’t effective in preventing the Tesla CEO from getting what he wants.
Twitter set to accept Musk’s $43 billion offer (Reuters)
Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) is poised to agree a sale to Elon Musk for around $43 billion in cash, the price the CEO of Tesla has called his “best and final” offer for the social media company, people familiar with the matter said.
Musk, the world’s richest person according to Forbes, is negotiating to buy Twitter in a personal capacity and Tesla (TSLA.O) is not involved in the deal.
Twitter has not been able to secure so far a ‘go-shop’ provision under its agreement with Musk that would allow it to solicit other bids once the deal is signed, the sources said. Still, Twitter would be allowed to accept an offer from another party by paying Musk a break-up fee, the sources added.
Twitter users can probably expect major changes once Musk takes the company private. The 50-year-old entrepreneur has teased all sorts of improvements, such as an edit button, long-form tweets, more effective protection against spam bots, and cheaper prices for Twitter Blue, the platform’s premium subscription service. Musk also intends to transform Twitter into a free-speech-first platform, one that won’t regulate content beyond what’s required by law.