Elon Musk has reached a deal to purchase Twitter for roughly $44 billion USD, the company announced on Monday. The deal was unanimously approved by Twitter’s board, which includes the platform’s former CEO, Jack Dorsey.
As part of the deal, shareholders will receive $54.20 in cash in exchange for each share of Twitter stock they currently own. This marks a 38% premium over the stock price on the day before Musk announced that he had become a shareholder. Upon completion of the deal, Twitter will become a private 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 published to Twitter on Monday. “Twitter has tremendous potential — I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”
“Twitter has a purpose and relevance that impacts the entire world,” Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal added. “Deeply proud of our teams and inspired by the work that has never been more important.”
The New York Times reported earlier on Monday that Twitter was nearing completion on the deal, citing two people with knowledge of the situation.
Musk announced on April 14 that he wanted to buy Twitter and take it private, tweeting out a link to his filing to buy “100% of Twitter for $54.20 [USD] per share in cash.” In the filing, he called the bid his “best and final offer” and said that if it’s not accepted, he would “need to reconsider [his] position as a shareholder.”
Last week, Musk updated his proposal, lining up $46.5 billion USD in financing, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Twitter’s 11-member board reportedly met with Musk over his bid to buy the company on Sunday morning. The two parties discussed a timeline for a potential deal and any fees that would be paid if the agreement fell apart, the sources said.
“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 said in his proposal. “However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company.
“Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it,” he added.