Twitter and Elon Musk strike deal for takeover

The takeover marks one of the biggest acquisitions in tech history and will likely have global repercussions for years to come, including reshaping how billions of people use social media.

The world’s richest man Elon Musk has pulled off an extraordinary buy-out of Twitter, taking the social media giant private in an against-the-odds, $US44bn ($61bn) deal that will prompt major changes in the platform’s rules.

Less than two weeks after announcing a plan to buy the entirety of Twitter, the favoured social media platform for politicians, journalists and opinion influencers, the company’s board announced it had accepted Mr Musk’s offer unconditionally.

“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 Twitter’s Independent Board Chair in a statement.

The turnabout on Twitter’s part comes after Elon Musk met privately on Friday with several shareholders of the company to extol the virtues of his proposal.

The announcement ended speculation about Mr Musk’s bid after the company, whose management and senior staff were reportedly opposed to the sale, enacted a “poison-pill’’ to make it more difficult for Mr Musk to increase his stake.

South African-born Mr Musk, 50, whose net wealth exceeds $US230bn, mainly owing to his holdings in Tesla, bought 9 per cent of Twitter in early April after weeks of criticising the San Francisco social media platform for being too censorious.

Twitter, which founder Jack Dorsey left last year, has frozen or deleted the accounts of doctors, journalists, politicians, from author Naomi Wolf to pop star Nicki Minaj, for transgressing its “hate speech” and “misinformation” policies, which includes voicing criticism of Covid-19 vaccines, lockdowns, masks.

“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,” Mr Musk said in a statement.

“I also want 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,” he said.

🚀💫♥️ Yesss!!! ♥️💫🚀 pic.twitter.com/0T9HzUHuh6

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 25, 2022

Mr Musk’s buyout bid valued the company at $US54.20 a share, a 38 per cent premium to where the shares were trading in New York on April 1st, the day before Mr Musk announced his 9 per cent stake.

He accepted and then declined a seat on the Twitter board after his minority stake emerged, foreshadowing a plan to buyout the entire company.

The purchase will add fuel to a fiery debate about free speech on social media platforms, coming a few days after former president Barack Obama called for greater regulation of social media platforms to stamp out so-called misinformation and disinformation.

Biden administration officials were reportedly concerned Twitter under Mr Musk’s stewardship would permit the return of Mr Trump, although the former president appeared to rule that out earlier on Monday.

“I hope Elon buys Twitter because he’ll make improvements to it and he is a good man, but I am going to be staying on TRUTH,” he told Fox News, referring to Truth Social, a social media platform linked to the former president, whose shares fell 13 per cent on Monday after the Twitter buy-out announcement.

Mr Musk has had a rocky relationship with the Biden administration, urging Congress to vote against the White House’s Build Back Better legislation, which included subsidies for electric car purchases only if built with unionised workers (therefore excluding Tesla).

Mr Musk was also an outspoken critic of the Biden administration’s response to Covid-19, repeatedly arguing that Sweden was “right” to avoid lockdowns. He has moved Tesla’s headquarters from California to Texas, citing restrictive tax and pandemic rules.

“No matter who owns or runs Twitter, the president has long been concerned about the power of large social media platforms,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday.

Congress is considering a series of bills, most with bipartisan support, to rein in the power of big tech platforms through greater regulatory oversight

Social media erupted in a mix of celebration and condemnation after the buyout announcement. “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means,” Mr Musk tweeted a few hours before the announcement.