What you need to know
- Elon Musk is officially buying Twitter.
- The deal is going through for about $44 billion.
- Musk says he has many changes planned for the "digital town square."
Elon Musk is officially buying Twitter.
In a press release, the company announced that it has entered into an agreement with Musk set to acquire Twitter for $54.20 a share, a valuation at approximately $44 billion. Once the transaction is complete, Twitter will become a privately owned company.
Under the terms of the agreement, Twitter stockholders will receive $54.20 in cash for each share of Twitter common stock that they own upon closing of the proposed transaction. The purchase price represents a 38% premium to Twitter's closing stock price on April 1, 2022, which was the last trading day before Mr. Musk disclosed his approximately 9% stake in Twitter.
Bret Taylor, Twitter's Independent Board Chair, said that the deal is "the best path forward 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. 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 current CEO, touched on the impact that the social media brand has on the world.
"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."
Musk himself closed out the press release, saying that he plans to turn the platform into a trusted digital town square.
"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. 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."
It's currently unclear exactly how Twitter will change under Musk's leadership. We'll have to wait for what is sure to be an eventful few months for the social media network.
