Elon Musk makes $43 billion cash offer to buy Twitter

What 

A little less than two weeks after buying a 9.2% stake in Twitter, Elon Musk has made a cash offer to buy the entire company at $54.20 per share

Why 

In an SEC filing made on Wednesday 13 April, Musk explains that since making his initial investment, he has come to realise that the company “will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form,” and that “Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company”

What next 

In a script included in the filing, Musk says he will reconsider his position as shareholder if his offer is declined

The story 

“Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it,” Musk said in an offer letter to Twitter, which was made public in an SEC filing on Thursday. Twitter shares jumped 13% on the news. 

“If the deal doesn’t work, given that I don’t have confidence in management nor do I believe I can drive the necessary change in the public market, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder,” Musk said in the letter to Twitter’s Chairman of the board, Bret Taylor. The only way to make Twitter work is to take it private, Musk added. 

“I am not playing the back-and-forth game. I have moved straight to the end. It’s a high price and your shareholders will love it. If the deal doesn’t work, given that I don’t have confidence in management nor do I believe I can drive the necessary change in the public market, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder,” the Tesla CEO elaborated. 

Twitter issued a statement confirming the offer. The company said its board would 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.” 

Musk has in the past repeatedly criticised Twitter’s banning of individuals and views that violate its policies, saying that it goes against the principles of free speech. The controversial CEO, also the richest person in the world, announced his Twitter bid by tweeting, “I made an offer,” accompanied by a link to the SEC filing. 

Fellow Bitcoin super hodler Michael Saylor said in reaction to Musk’s announcement, “lf you can’t buy all of Twitter, you can still buy a fraction of Bitcoin.” 

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