Social media platform Twitter is set for a massive overhaul, with new products on the cards.
So says Elon Musk, whose bid to privately control the micro-blogging platform succeeded yesterday and now awaits regulatory approvals.
The Pretoria-born billionaire says he is looking forward to working with the company and its community of users to implement his plans, which he promises will unlock Twitter’s maximum value.
Tesla CEO Musk has been bidding to control the micro-blogging platform over the past few weeks.
The world’s richest man made an initial cash offer of $43 billion to Twitter's board of directors to take over the company, to which the board didn’t respond.
Yesterday, Twitter announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an entity wholly-owned by Musk, for $54.20 per share in cash, in a transaction valued at approximately $44 billion.
Upon completion of the transaction, Twitter will become a privately-held company.
The deal, which has been unanimously approved by the Twitter board of directors, is expected to close this year, subject to the “approval of Twitter stockholders, the receipt of applicable regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions”.
In a statement, the company says under the terms of the agreement, Twitter stockholders will receive $54.20 in cash for each share of Twitter common stock they own upon closing of the proposed transaction.
This purchase price, Twitter says, represents a 38% premium to the company's closing stock price on 1 April 2022, which was the last trading day before Musk disclosed his approximately 9% stake in Twitter.
The company also notes Musk has secured $25.5 billion of fully committed debt and margin loan financing, and is providing an approximately $21 billion equity commitment.
After the announcement of the transaction, Musk outlined some of his plans for the micro-blogging platform.
“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 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."
Bret Taylor, Twitter independent board chairman, says: "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 CEO, adds: "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."
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