Elon Musk has reached an agreement with Twitter’s board of directors to buy the social network for $54.20 per share, the social network said in a statement Monday. It is thus valued at some 44 billion dollars.
Twitter announced the deal following a meeting of its board of directors. Elon Musk, who is among the richest people in the world according to the ranking compiled by Forbes, negotiated the takeover of Twitter on a personal basis.
The boss of Tesla and SpaceX therefore becomes the owner of the platform which he considers “the digital public square where vital subjects for the future of humanity are debated”, according to a quote in the press release.
Remove Twitter from the Stock Exchange
The action of the group, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, was suspended just before the publication of the press release. It was close to 52 dollars, taking more than 6% around 7:00 p.m. (Swiss time), thanks to rumors of an imminent acquisition in the American press.
In presenting his purchase offer on April 14, Elon Musk said that a withdrawal of Twitter from the Stock Exchange was necessary to allow it to grow and become a platform truly dedicated to freedom of expression.
While he had initially given no details on the financing of his offer, which had aroused the skepticism of some observers, the businessman announced last week that he had completed the financing of the operation.
The announcement prompted Twitter’s board to consider its offer more seriously, and many shareholders called on the company’s executives not to pass up the opportunity, Archyde.com reported on Sunday.
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