On Monday, Elon Musk became the new owner of Twitter after completing a spectacular $44 billion acquisition, marking an end to a process that had wavered for the past three weeks.
In a press release announcing the decision, Musk said, "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." Bret Taylor, who is Twitter Independent board chair, agrees with Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, describing it as the best path forward for it’s shareholders.
The news puts an end to months of conjecture about Musk's financial stake in Twitter. On April 4, the public learned of the invetor’s 9.2 percent ownership in the corporation, or 73.5 million shares worth $2.4 billion. The purchase of Twitter stock came with an offer to join the board of directors at the time, but Musk declined on April 10.
He quickly made it clear that he wanted everything. On April 14, Musk made a $54.20 per share bid to buy the company's remaining shares, a 38 percent premium over the amount he paid for his initial investment. Musk's letter to the chair of Twitter's board of directors was harsh in its criticism of the site.
He wrote that he believes the platform should be used for free speech and that Twitter doesn’t represent that in its current form.
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