Elon Musk to acquire Twitter for $44 billion
Elon Musk has agreed to acquire Twitter for $44 billion ending a drama that included hostile takeover threats before handing him personal control of one of the world’s most powerful social media networks.
Former US President Donald Trump used Twitter as a megaphone before the network banned him and Musk, a self-described “free-speech absolutist,” has said he wants to overhaul the company’s overzealous content control.
“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,” Musk said in a statement.
However, civil rights organizations were concerned about the type of content Musk may allow on the network, and Derrick Johnson, head of the NAACP, tweeted, “Do not allow Twitter to become a petri dish for hate speech, misinformation, or disinformation.” It is critical to safeguard our democracy.”
President Joe Biden — himself a Twitter user — is “concerned about the power of huge social media platforms,” according to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, “no matter who owns or operates Twitter.”
In New York, Twitter’s shares finished 5.6 per cent higher.
Musk purchased a 9-percentage interest in Twitter in April and then offered to buy the firm altogether, citing a mission to preserve free expression as justification.
The board initially stated that it was considering Musk’s offer, but later rejected him and implemented a “poison pill” strategy that would have made it more difficult for Musk to gain control of the company.
Last week, though, Musk announced that he had secured $46.5 billion in financing, which included debt, a margin loan, and his personal fortune. Musk’s huge wealth originates from the success of Tesla electric vehicles as well as other enterprises.
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives predicted earlier in the day that the board would accept his bid since it couldn’t find another buyer.
“This basically put (their) back against the wall, they had to come to the negotiation table,” he said in an interview on CNBC.
The publicly traded firm will now become a private company owned by Musk, who negotiated a purchase price of $54.20 per-share, Twitter said.
Musk’s initiatives have sparked optimism about Twitter’s commercial possibilities, despite the fact that it has struggled to achieve sustainable growth despite its critical role in culture and politics.
Truist Securities said in a note that Agrawal, who took over as Twitter CEO late last year, has made inroads on new monetization features such as subscription subscriptions, but that “near term, Musk’s presence at this time risks undermining those initiatives.”
Progressive groups were particularly afraid that Musk may allow Trump, who was banned from Twitter following his supporters’ attack on the US Capitol last year in an attempt to reverse the 2020 presidential election outcome, to return to the platform.
