Twitter Inc.’s board has accepted the $44.00 billion buyout offer from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, taking the platform private.
Accordingly, the acquisition is a groundbreaking moment for the 16-year-old company. The microblogging site emerged as one of the world’s most influential public squares.
Meanwhile, in the previous years, Musk has criticized the moderation of the social networking service. He emphasized that the primary intention of the acquisition was to build a space for free speech.
Correspondingly, industry experts anticipated the billionaire’s regime to mean less moderation. They also expected the reinstatement of banned political individuals, including former President Donald Trump.
Twitter banned Trump from the platform following his tweets last year. He cited the risk of further incitement of violence amid the United States Capitol attack.
Meanwhile, conservatives cheered the prospect of fewer controls while human rights activists echoed fears of a rise in hate speech.
On the other hand, the Tesla executive has also advocated user-friendly changes to the service. His plans include an edit button and defeating spam bots that send overwhelming amounts of unwanted tweets.
Discussions over the acquisition agreement accelerated over the weekend. The board’s acceptance came after Musk wooed Twitter shareholders with financing details of his offer.
If the social media giant ignored Musk, several investors threatened to side with him in a tender offer. The poison pill strategy that the firm had adopted would protect the company from a takeover. However, it would not spare it from publicly losing the support of its shareholders.
Moreover, Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey voiced his sentiments on the deal late on Monday. In a series of tweets, he thanked Musk and current head Parag Agrawal for the decision.
Inside Musk’s Twitter buyout offer
Accordingly, Twitter’s advisers communicated with Musk on Sunday. They tried to convince him to increase his offer. However, the billionaire stuck to his position, citing the filing was the best and final.
The stars aligned for the CEO in more ways.Technology stocks registered significant losses this month. Shares dropped amid concerns over inflation and an economic slowdown, posing a bleak backdrop for social media stocks.
In addition, Elon also had allies on the company’s board. For instance, Egon Durban serves on Twitter.
He previously partnered with Musk on his abandoned bid for Tesla.
At the same time, Jack Dorsey, current board
director, shares Musk’s passion for cryptocurrencies.
Under the transaction, the buyout deal would close this year, yet subjected to stockholders’ approval.
COMMENTS