Elon Musk to Buy Twitter: Tesla CEO Reaches $44 Billion Deal After Rejecting Seat on Social Media Platform’s Board

usmagazine.com:

Taking over. Elon Musk reached a deal to buy Twitter for about $44 billion on Monday, April 25.The public company will be purchased for $54.20 per share in cash, and the company will then be privately held by the Tesla CEO, who is the world’s richest man at age 50.“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 press release announcing his purchase on Monday.He went on to note that he intends to make some big changes. “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,” he explained. “Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”Bret Taylor, Twitter’s Independent Board Chair, added in a statement, “The Twitter Board conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon’s proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty, and financing.

The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter’s stockholders.”Musk bought nine percent of Twitter shares earlier this month and was offered a spot on the board of directors after becoming the company’s largest stakeholder.

The SpaceX CEO initially accepted the spot, which was contingent on a background check, on the 11-person board on April 5. However, four days later, he turned down the spot on April 9.

No reason was given for his rejection.The position, which was to have had a term ending in 2024, would have required Musk to agree not to own more than 14.9 percent