UPDATE 3PM ET: Twitter has reached a deal with Elon Musk, which will see "an entity wholly owned" by the SpaceX and Tesla CEO acquire the social-networking company for $54.20 per share, valuing it at about $44 billion.
Once the deal closes, "Twitter will become a privately held company," it said in a statement.
Twitter notes the share price is "a 38% premium to Twitter's closing stock price on April 1, 2022, which was the last trading day before Mr. Musk disclosed his approximately 9% stake in Twitter."
"The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter's stockholders," says Bret Taylor, Twitter's Independent Board Chair.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal released a short statement: "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," he said.
In his own statement, Musk once again championed free speech and said he wants "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.
"Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it," he adds.
Original Story:Elon Musk looks likely to become a media mogul later today amid reports that Twitter will accept his bid to acquire the company after all.
As Reuters reports, sources who wish to remain anonymous believe Twitter's board will recommend shareholders accept an offer for $43 billion in cash. The deal on the table will not allow Twitter to solicit other bids once it's signed (a so-called "go-shop" provision), but if another offer appears, Twitter may accept it by paying Musk an undisclosed break-up fee.
The deal is seen as Musk's "best and final" offer, and it follows details of how the billionaire plans to fund the acquisition, which were revealed late last week. Multiple loans from Morgan Stanley and other financial institutions, combined with $21 billion from equity financing covered by Musk himself, have clearly given the Twitter board enough confidence to move forward.
Earlier this month, the board rebuffed Musk's bid by adopting a “poison pill” plan to stop him from gaining shareholder control. Under the plan, Twitter shareholders would be allowed to buy additional shares at a discount if someone acquired 15% or more of Twitter’s stock without approval from the company’s board.
That would no longer be in play if the full acquisition goes through. Musk has stated he intends to switch the focus of the social network to free speech and less content moderation, suggesting time-outs instead of permanent bans would be preferable, for example.