Elon Musk struck a deal yesterday to purchase Twitter for $44 billion, amounting to $54.20 per share in an agreement which will see the Tesla tycoon take on complete ownership of the social media giant.
The $54.20 share price tag represented a 38% premium on Twitter’s closing price on 1 April, the final trading day before Musk revealed his 9% stake in the 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,” said Musk.
“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.”
The agreement was unanimously approved by the platform’s Board of Directors and is expected to close later this year, pending shareholder approval.
The move followed pushback from Twitter’s Board, which saw executives issue a “poison pill” earlier in April, in a bid to dissuade Musk from a takeover attempt.
However, the Board appeared to change its tune after Musk presented his funding proposal to take the company private under his ownership.
Musk has reportedly secured $25.5 billion in fully committed debt and margin loan financing, alongside an equity commitment of approximately $21 billion.
“The Twitter Board conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon’s proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty, and financing,” said Twitter independent board chair Bret Taylor.
“The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter’s stockholders.”
The social media platform confirmed that there are no financing conditions to the closing of the deal.
“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,” said Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal.
