Posted on 04/25/2022 1:00:49 PM PDT by Red Badger
* Twitter’s board accepted billionaire Elon Musk’s offer to buy the social media company and take it private, the company confirmed.
* The announcement ends a weeks-long saga Musk kicked off when he offered to buy the company at $54.20 per share, his “best and final.”
* Twitter’s board sought to fend off a hostile takeover by adopting a so-called poison pill.
In this article
TWTR +2.83 (+5.77%)
WATCH NOW VIDEO03:05
Board approves Twitter sale to Elon Musk for approx. $44B Twitter’s board has accepted an offer from billionaire Elon Musk to buy the social media company and take it private, the company announced Monday.
The stock was halted for the news but was up more than 6% once it resumed trading.
“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 included in the press release announcing the $44 billion deal. “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.”
Here’s the full announcement from Twitter:
“Twitter, Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) today announced 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. Upon completion of the transaction, Twitter will become a privately held 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, “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 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.”
“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 Mr. 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.”
Transaction Terms and Financing
The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the Twitter Board of Directors, is expected to close in 2022, subject to the approval of Twitter stockholders, the receipt of applicable regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.
Mr. Musk has secured $25.5 billion of fully committed debt and margin loan financing and is providing an approximately $21.0 billion equity commitment. There are no financing conditions to the closing of the transaction.
For further information regarding all terms and conditions contained in the definitive transaction agreement, please see Twitter’s Current Report on Form 8-K, which will be filed in connection with the transaction.
First Quarter 2022 Earnings Results
Twitter plans to release its first quarter fiscal year 2022 results before market open on April 28, 2022. In light of the pending transaction announced today, Twitter will not hold a corresponding conference call.
Advisors
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan, and Allen & Co. are serving as financial advisors to Twitter, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP are serving as legal counsel. Morgan Stanley is acting as lead financial advisor to Mr. Musk. BofA Securities and Barclays are also acting as financial advisors. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is serving as legal counsel.”
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
Thank God!!!!
Woooo hoooooo!!!!!!
This clearly means Twitter is the first African American owned social media company.
Now watch the left lose its sh!t over THAT little factoid….
RLTW
Dream on.
he creeps me out
If Elon were to build a hybrid I would consider it.
The company isn’t worth 44 billion. So it definitely has something to do with a hidden agenda.
I truly believe Musk made a huge difference in the Ukraine debacle with Starlink.
He is eccentric. A genius. And can do whatever he wants.
Bezos wants to run around the planet on yachts with his girlfriend.
Musk wants to couch surf and scheme and plot.
Gates is buying up farmland all over the world
Most decent sized, and many small private companies, have boards.
many are MIA today. :-)
That’s exactly right. That wont stop and Trump shouldn’t put up with it.
That really is something. He is African. I think he also has US citizenship and Canadian citizenship.
He’s South African, making him African American.
This is the best madness posted so far
It didn’t take long for some liberals to freak out on Twitter over the news.
“At its root, [Elon Musk] wanting to purchase Twitter is not about left vs right,” he wrote. “It’s about white power.”
“The man was raised in Apartheid by a white nationalist,” King continued. “He’s upset that Twitter won’t allow white nationalists to target/harass people. That’s his definition of free speech.”
LOLOL
Right.
Not sure how you can make Feature #2 compatible with Feature #1, though.
No need to try to ban woke nonsense. That’s the very purpose of free speech; when all views and arguments can be heard, the truth will inevitably rise to the top. What Musk does need to do is try to prevent leftist botnets from flooding every post by a prominent conservative with leftist drivel. Ever notice that? Trump’s tweets, in particular, were instantly overwhelmed with an obviously coordinated effort to spam them to such an extent that it would block out all positive responses.
We don’t want to censor the left. In fact, it works to our advantage when their idiocy can be seen by all, along with the well-reasoned responses to it from conservatives. But they should not be allowed to game the system through technological means. That’s where the effort should be directed.
And they can stay that way IMO
I have an account that I never use but I’m gonna sit and enjoy TF outta the lib splody heads meltdown.
Very thoughtful response, Mr. Noise.
I’d like to see Twitter begin cancelling Biden admin accounts. Fair is fair.
His father was a piece of work. I don’t know if he was some kind of white nationalist but he certainly was “out there”.
Supposedly he had a child with his step daughter.
Just because you were white and lived in South Africa does not mean you were some kind of racist boogie man.
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