Musk on cusp of $61.4 billion Twitter purchase
Discussions between the world’s richest man and Twitter’s board have been accelerated over the weekend, following Musk’s unsolicited offer to buy the platform was updated last week.
According to a statement released by Twitter earlier today, the platform has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired wholly by Musk for for US$54.20 (A$75.51) per share in cash in a transaction valued at approximately US$44 billion (A$61.4 billion).
The platform’s 11-person board includes founder CEO Jack Dorsey, who resigned from his role as Twitter CEO in November last year, and had planned to step down from the board in May.
The deal will see Musk take control of Twitter just two weeks after taking out a 9% stake in the social network on the 4th of April, which had made him the platform’s largest shareholder.
Commenting on the transaction, Bret Taylor, Twitter’s independent board chair, said: “The Twitter Board conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon’s proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty, and financing. The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter’s stockholders.”
Parag Agrawal, Twitter’s CEO, added: “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.”
“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 Mr. 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.”
According the Musk, his decision to purchase Twitter was guided by his opinion that it has not been living up to its potential for ‘free speech’.
“Free speech is the bedrock of a function 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.”
Musk’s plans to buy the platform have spurred some debate online and off about the ethics of social media ownership and interpretations of ‘free speech’, with plans for changes to the platform’s tools having potential implications for its ad business.
The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the Twitter Board of Directors, is expected to close in 2022, subject to the approval of Twitter stockholders and regulatory approvals.
The deal comes after the platform posted solid financial results in Q4 for 2021, with the platform’s ad revenue growing 22% year-on-year.
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