Tesla CEO Elon Musk has agreed to acquire social media company Twitter for $44 billion, Reuters reported on the 25th (local time). As the news spread, Twitter shares jumped 5.66 percent from the previous trading day to $51.70 on the New York Stock Exchange. Twitter shares had jumped nearly 5 percent since the pre-opening session.
Musk acquired Twitter for $54.20 per share, a total of $44 billion. This is consistent with Musk’s original offer. This is the amount of money added to Twitter’s stock price this month with a 38% management premium.
Elon Musk said in a statement, “Freedom of expression is the basis on which democracy works, and Twitter is a digital town square where important issues are discussed for the future of mankind.”
He added, “We want to improve our products with new functions, build algorithms as open sources to increase reliability, defeat spam bots, and authenticate everyone to make Twitter better.”
Brett Taylor, chairman of Twitter’s board of directors, said, “The board focused on value, certainty, and financing and evaluated Musk’s proposal comprehensively.” He explained, “I believe that a considerable cash premium is provided, which is the best way for shareholders.”
The New York Times (NYT) evaluated the deal as “the world’s richest man has succeeded in acquiring an influential social network frequented by world leaders, celebrities and cultural trend leaders.”
Earlier on the 21st, Musk announced that he would publicly buy Twitter. He said he had secured a total of $46.5 billion in acquisition funds through the disclosure, adding that he was considering buying Twitter publicly for $54.20 a share
Prior to this, he submitted documents to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the 13th and offered to acquire Twitter for $54.20 per share.
When Musk revealed his hostile merger and acquisition plan, Twitter had engaged in a fierce war of nerves by mobilizing “Poison Peel” (poison prescription).
Poison Peel is a defense measure to prevent hostile mergers and acquisitions, and if a hostile takeover attempt comes in, it can issue new shares to existing shareholders at a lower price than the market price only by the board of directors’ resolution.
However, as Twitter’s board of directors and Musk agreed to a merger and acquisition, Poison Phil was automatically scrapped.
Musk is reportedly planning to take over all of Twitter’s shares, delist them, and turn them into private companies
