(SAN FRANCISCO) — Twitter announced on Monday that Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, is acquiring the social media giant for approximately $44 billion.
Per the terms of the agreement, Twitter stockholders will receive $54.20 for every share they own.
“The Twitter Board conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon’s proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty, and financing,” said Bret Taylor, Twitter’s independent board chair, in a statement. “The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter’s stockholders.”
The transaction, which was unanimously approved by Twitter’s board of directors, is expected to be finalized later this year pending the approval of stockholders, regulatory approvals and other closing conditions. Once completed, the social media giant will become a privately held company.
“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. “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,” Musk continued.
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