Elon Musk, a South African-born business magnate, has finally secured the deal to acquire Twitter after weeks of back-and-forth negotiations with the company’s board.
The billionaire entrepreneur agreed to buy the famous social network service for $44-billion. According to Bloomberg, the company said that investors will receive $54.20 for each Twitter share they own on Monday.
Mid-April the company’s CEO Parag Agrawal announced in a message to the employees that the biggest shareholder who recently bought a 9.2% stake in the company would not be joining the board. According to reports, joining the board would have meant that Musk cannot buy more than 14.9% of the company in the future.
The famous billionaire has since been tweeting his opinions about Twitter — what needs to change and if there’s a need for a new social media platform. He has instead bought the company and is now in full ownership.
Some of the things Musk criticised about Twitter include:
- “Biased” algorithms and feeds
- Automated junk posts
- Absence of an edit button
- Lack of free speech
“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,” said Bret Taylor, Twitter’s Independent Board Chair.
“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,” said Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal.
This is how social media reacted to the news:
Now that Elon Musk is buying Twitter, the question for all of us is: Will he allow a Criminal who used this platform to lie and spread disinformation to try to overthrow the US Government to return and continue his Criminal activity? And if he does, how do we combat it?
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) April 25, 2022
I still think Elon Musk owning Twitter is a bad idea. He will amplify racists, bigots, and misinformation. He is a bad-faith actor with his distorted views of free speech and censorship.
— David Weissman (@davidmweissman) April 25, 2022
Not sure I am interested in Twitter if Elon Musk owns it.
— John W. Dean (@JohnWDean) April 24, 2022
By Zintle Nkohla
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