Twitter Board Accepts Elon Musk's $44 Billion Buyout Offer
Twitter agrees to a $44 billion cash deal that takes the social network private under Elon Musk's ownership. The acquisition promises new features and open-source algorithms but raises concerns about content moderation.
Twitter's board accepts an offer from billionaire Elon Musk to buy the social media company and take it private for approximately $44 billion. The cash deal values Twitter at $54.20 per share and ends a weekslong saga that starts when Musk discloses a large stake in the company. The stock closes up over five percent for the day following the official announcement of the agreement.
Musk states that free speech serves as the bedrock of a functioning democracy and describes Twitter as the digital town square. He promises to make the platform better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating spam bots, and authenticating all humans. The completion of this massive transaction requires both shareholder and regulatory approval before Twitter officially becomes a private company.
Critics express concern that the billionaire's control over the platform results in the silencing of voices with whom he may disagree. These worries stem from the fact that Musk frequently blocks critics from his personal account and uses the platform in legally contentious ways. Twitter's board previously attempts to fend off this takeover by adopting a so-called poison pill strategy, but they ultimately agree to sell the company to the world's richest person.