Microblogging site Twitter has accepted Elon Musk’s offer to acquire them for $44 billion, the company announced in a press release today. At $54.20 a share, the Musk has purchased the company at the same price named in his initial offer on April 14th.
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“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 Musk in a statement included with the release. “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.”Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy”
Parag Agrawal the current CEO of the company has also applauded the deal in the release. “Twitter has a purpose and relevance that impacts the entire world,” Agrawal said in an accompanying statement. “Deeply proud of our teams and inspired by the work that has never been more important.”
Elon will pay out the company loans to a tune of $25.5 billion in an SEC filing on Thursday, this also includes $21 billion in personal equity. Analysts believe the loans could cost Twitter as much as $1 billion a year in servicing fees, or roughly 20 percent of the company’s annual revenue.
Twitter ‘s poison pill measure
Shortly after Elon announced the buyout plan, Twitter’s board instituted a “poison pill” measure, suggesting it intended to resist Musk’s buyout. It’s unclear what led to the company’s change of heart. According to a New York Times report on Monday, Twitter employees were divided by the news, receiving little information concerning the ongoing talks.
It’s unclear what impact Musk will have on Twitter or where he’ll start with changes. When he first disclosed his 9.2 percent stake in Twitter, he polled Twitter users on the creation of an “edit” button, which Twitter was already developing. He later suggested nixing ads from Twitter Blue, lowering its subscription price, and adding Dogecoin as a payment option.
Elon originally offered to buy Twitter for $54.20 per share on April 14th. The offer followed Musk’s disclosure of acquiring a 9.2 percent stake, a move that made him Twitter’s largest individual shareholder at the time.
