Micro-blogging platform Twitter have now accepted offer made by world billionaire Elon Musk for the purchase of the company. Earlier today, Twitter disclosed the announcement of the $44 billion purchase via a press release. Reports have revealed that the billionaire purchased the company at $54.20 per share, the same price named in his initial offer on April 14th.
A series of briefings happened before the offer was accepted. The process began with Twitter’s board of directors entering into talks with Musk to learn more about his bid and see if there was room to negotiate a more favorable terms for the company. The agreement went further with the social network board meeting and recommending the transaction to Twitter shareholders. The sale was a dramatic shift for the board, which had originally made moves to block Musk from taking the social media network private.
Twitter board chairman, Bret Taylor mentioned in a statement that before accepting the offer for the purchase the board “conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon’s proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty, and financing.” Taylor added that “The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter’s stockholders.”
In a statement by Elon Musk along with the release “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 added that “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.” Prior to the announcement, Musk highlighted some of the possible reforms he’ll love to see on twitter within the coming weeks. This includes loosening content restrictions (which were used to suspend former President Donald Trump’s account) and the need to ban fake or automated accounts. Also he created a poll that called for the introducing of the edit feature.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal has also applauded the deal between Twitter and billionaire Musk in the release. Agrawal has disclosed that “Twitter has a purpose and relevance that impacts the entire world.” In a statement addressed to Twitter employees he says “Deeply proud of our teams and inspired by the work that has never been more important.”
Musk shares with the public his laid out plans for funding the deal in an SEC filing. This will include $25.5 billion in loans and $21 billion in personal equity. Analysts say that the loans could cost Twitter to the tune of $1 billion a year in servicing fees, or even nearly 20 percent in annual revenue.
Earlier in the month, Musk made purchases of a major stake in Twitter before making moves last week to push towards the purchase of the social media company. For now its unclear the impact of Elon Musk’s new involvement with Twitter or where changes will start from.
