Twitter has accepted Elon Musk’s $44 billion bid to buy the social media company, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday afternoon.
Trading of Twitter stock was halted just prior to the announcement. In a statement, Twitter said that it has “entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an entity wholly owned by Elon Musk, for $54.20 per share in cash in a transaction valued at approximately $44 billion.”
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. Bret Taylor, Twitter’s Independent Board Chair, said the board assessed Musk’s proposal with a focus on “value, certainty and financing.” Taylor said the transaction “is the best path forward for Twitter’s stockholders.”
Parag Agrawal, Twitter’s CEO, 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.”
In a statement, Musk said, “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.”
Read the original story below:
Twitter is in “advanced discussions” to accept Elon Musk’s $43 billion bid to buy the social media company, according to The Wall Street Journal.
A confirmation of the deal could come as soon as today, Bloomberg reported. Discussions are ongoing to negotiate details of the transaction that would be valued at $54.20 per share, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Wall Street Journal cautioned that there are no guarantees a deal will be finalized.
Twitter is expected to make a decision on the Musk offer by its first-quarter earnings report, which is scheduled for Thursday.
Twitter had initially balked at Musk’s offer, but the board changed its mind once Musk presented his financing plan, according to reports.
This is a developing news story, return for updates.