Elon Musk buys Twitter for $44 billion; vows major changes
Twitter has accepted Elon Musk's offer and sold itself to the world's richest man for approximately $44 billion in one of the biggest tech deals ever. Musk had offered to buy Twitter for $54.2 per share earlier this month, in a bid to make the micro-blogging platform uphold free speech. Upon completion of the transaction, Twitter will become a privately held company.
Everything to know about the transaction terms and financing
Under the terms of the agreement, Twitter shareholders will receive $54.2 in cash for each share that they own - a 38% premium to Twitter's closing stock price on April 1, 2022. Musk has secured $25.5 billion as loan and approximately $21.0 billion in personal equity. According to analysts, the loans could cost Twitter $1 billion per year in servicing fees.
Want to make Twitter better than ever: Musk
"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 a purpose and relevance that impacts the world'
Talking about Musk's buyout of Twitter, Parag Agrawal, the CEO of the micro-blogging platform said, "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."
'The transaction deliver substantial cash premium; best for Twitter's stockholders'
"The Twitter Board conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon's proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty, and financing," said Bret Taylor, Twitter's Independent Board Chair. "The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter's stockholders," he added. Taylor is currently the Co-CEO at Salesforce, an American cloud-based software company.
