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Officially Acquires Twitter, Musk: Will Open Source Algorithms, Combat Spam Bots, and Require Identity Verification for All Users

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Officially Acquires Twitter, Musk: Will Open Source Algorithms, Combat Spam Bots, and Require Identity Verification for All Users

Elon Musk officially acquired the social media platform he has long admired after experiencing joining and exiting the board, announcing the acquisition of Twitter. Despite facing a poison pill strategy from the board to resist the acquisition, Musk emphasized that the primary task after the acquisition will be to thoroughly clean up the platform of bot accounts.

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According to a press release on Twitter, Musk will acquire Twitter for about $440 billion in cash, at $54.20 per share, after which Twitter will transition to a private company.

Existing Twitter shareholders will receive $54.20 in cash per share of common stock, which is a 38% premium over the price on 4/1.

Bret Taylor, Chairman of the Twitter Independent Board, stated:

The Twitter board has carefully considered this acquisition and evaluated it through a comprehensive process, and the certainty and value of the acquisition will bring a significant cash premium. We believe this is the best direction for Twitter shareholders.

Parag Agrawal, CEO of Twitter, said:

The goals and significance of Twitter will impact the world, and we are proud of the team and inspired by such important work.

Elon Musk, founder of Tesla, stated:

Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of democracy, and Twitter is like a digital town square where everyone discusses crucial issues for the future of humanity. At the same time, I also hope to improve the platform through new features, open-source algorithms to increase trust, combat spam bots, verify identities for everyone, and make Twitter better. Twitter has endless potential, and I look forward to working with the company and users to unlock this potential.

Musk also emphasized on Twitter:

I hope even the worst critics of me can stay on Twitter, because that is the meaning of freedom of speech.

The acquisition has been unanimously approved by the board and is expected to be completed in 2022. Musk has already secured $25.5 billion in full recourse and margin loan financing and provided a $21 billion equity commitment. The acquisition will not be subject to financing conditions.

Twitter will release its first-quarter financial report before the opening on 4/28 without holding a shareholder conference call.