It's official: Elon Musk strikes deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion
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New York: In one of the world's biggest deals in the tech world, billionaire Elon Musk, struck a deal on Monday to buy Twitter for $44 billion with shares valued at $54.20. Musk had announced his takeover bid on April 14, calling it his 'best and final offer'.
After the $44 billion deal was finalised in the early hours of Tuesday (IST), Elon Musk hailed free speech in a tweet.
"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 released by Twitter."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."
The move comes as Twitter faces growing pressure from politicians and regulators over the content that appears on its platform. It has drawn critics from left and right over its efforts to mediate misinformation on the platform.
The publicly traded firm will now become a private company owned by Musk, who negotiated a purchase price of $54.20 per-share, Twitter said.
"Twitter has a purpose and relevance that impacts the entire world. Deeply proud of our teams and inspired by the work that has never been more important," the company's CEO Parag Agrawal said in a tweet.
According to research firm Equilar, Parag Agrawal would get an estimated $42 million if he were terminated within 12 months of a change in control at the social media company,
This comes as Musk in a securities filing on April 14 had said he did not have confidence in Twitter's management.
Meanwhile, the White House declined to comment on Musk's deal but said that President Joe Biden has long been concerned about the power of social media platforms.
"Our concerns are not new," said White House spokesperson Jen Psaki.
"The president has long talked about his concerns about the power of social media platforms, including Twitter and others, to spread misinformation."
