Tesla and SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk wants to buy Twitter in a filing submitted to the SEC on Thursday, Musk is offering to buy the company at $54.20 per share in cash of Twitter’s outstanding stock which equals to $43 billion USD for a 100 percent stake.
Elon Musk’s big-money offer is $6 billion more than Twitter’s $37 billion USD current value. In the recent filing, Musk addressed Twitter board chairman, Bret Taylor as he criticized Twitter, stating that the social media giant is not living up to free speech principles and needs to be transformed into a private company. Musk added that this is his best and final offer to become the majority owner of the company.
“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. Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it. 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,” Elon Musk said in the filing.
He adds if the deal doesn’t end up working out for Twitter which he says he doesn’t “have confidence in management nor do I believe I can drive the necessary change in the public market” that he would need to reconsider his position as a shareholder. In response, Twitter has responded to the offer which they are reportedly discussing in a Thursday meeting.
“The Twitter Board of Directors will carefully review the proposal to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the Company and all Twitter stockholders,” Twitter said in a press release.
The offer comes after Elon Musk became Twitter’s largest stakeholder after purchasing a 9.2 percent stake after complaining about the lack of freedom of speech on the platform, as reported by Bloomberg.
