Elon Musk is going to be a media mogul. He will add the entire social network to his more than 83 million followers on Twitter.
American billionaire Elon Musk buys Twitter for $44 billion. The world’s richest man will gain control of the influential social network used by millions of people around the world. Twitter will cease to be a publicly traded company after nine years.
Elon Musk agreed Monday night to buy Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) for $44 billion in cash. Reuters reported. The company said today that its board of directors unanimously approved the transaction.
The deal still needs to be formally approved by Twitter’s shareholders. However, some of them could remain in the company even after Musk’s arrival as the majority owner, because he has previously said that he wants to delist the company, but that he would like to have as many shareholders as possible.
Under US law, a non-listed company can have up to two thousand shareholders. The only shareholder bigger than Musk has so far been the investment group Vanguard, which held more than 10 per cent. Twitter founder Jack Dorsey held over two per cent.
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According to Musk, Twitter needs to be taken into private ownership in order to develop and become a true platform for free expression.
“Free speech is the foundation of a functioning democracy and Twitter is a digital world where issues vital to the future of humanity are discussed,” Musk said.
Twitter shares rose nearly 6% after the news, closing trading at $51.70.
I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 25, 2022
In addition, Musk also promised to introduce other new features on Twitter. For example, he talked about making algorithms more trustworthy or authenticating all people.