In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter for $54.20 per share, or $43 billion, just over a week after announcing a 9.2 percent stake in the social media company.
“I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy,” Musk wrote to Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor in an email.
According to Musk who is currently worth $273.6 billion, “Twitter needs to go private because it can neither thrive nor serve free speech in its current state.”
“As a result, I am offering to buy 100% of Twitter for $54.20 per share in cash, a 54% premium over the day before I began investing in Twitter and a 38% premium over the day before my investment was publicly announced. My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder,” Musk added.
In response to the offer, the company disclosed in a statement on Thursday that “The Twitter Board of Directors will carefully review the proposal to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the Company and all Twitter stockholders.”
On April 4, Twitter announced that Musk had purchased a 9.2 percent stake in the company, making him the company’s largest stakeholder. Musk, however, would not be allowed to own more than 14.9 percent of the company as a board member.
Then, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announced that Musk informed the company that he would not be joining the board of directors. There’s been a lot of speculation regarding Musk’s next move since then.
Interestingly, while answering questions about his offer to buy Twitter at the ongoing TED 2022, Musk said he thinks Twitter should open-source its algorithm so “no behind-the-scenes manipulation” happens.
During his 2022 TED Talk, Musk revealed that he has a plan B if the board of Twitter does not accept his offer.
