The Tesla founder said that he wants to make Twitter better than before by improving the product with new features; He also plans to make its algorithms open source to increase trust, while defeating spam bots and authenticating all the human users on the microblogging platform
Twitter agrees to be acquired by Elon Musk. (Credit: Tobias Kleinlercher / Wikipedia)
American billionaire Elon Musk has signed an all-cash deal worth around $44bn to acquire Twitter through an entity fully owned by him.
As per the terms of the deal, shareholders of the publicly-listed social media company will be paid $54.2 per share.
The deal will result in Twitter becoming a privately held company.
Musk, who is the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, already has a stake of 9.2% in the microblogging platform.
In a tweet, Musk stated: “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 debate.”
Musk also said that he wants to make Twitter better than before by improving the product with new features. Besides, the billionaire plans to make algorithms open source to increase trust, while defeating spam bots and authenticating all the human users on the social media platform.
Twitter had previously resisted the offer from Musk and had even adopted a limited duration shareholder rights plan to thwart the latter’s takeover plans.
However, the company’s board has now unanimously approved the transaction.
Twitter’s independent board chair Bret Taylor 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.”
For funding the deal, Musk has secured fully committed debt and margin loan financing of $25.5bn apart from offering a nearly $21bn equity commitment.
The deal, which is subject to the approval of Twitter’s shareholders, regulatory approvals, and other conditions, is expected to be wrapped up this year. The closing of the deal is not contingent on any financing conditions.
Twitter also revealed that it will announce its first quarter fiscal year 2022 results on 28 April. The company’s net income in Q4 2021 was $182m, while its revenue was $1.57bn.