Elon Musk has made an offer to purchase Twitter for $40 billion dollars. The news comes after Musk purchased a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter for $3 billion USD earlier this month, leading to Musk’s appointment to the tech company’s board of directors, which he then declined, resulting in a lawsuit from other shareholders.
Elon Musk’s interest in Twitter has been well-documented, with the entrepreneur wanting to test out an edit button before making an offer to turn Twitter into the platform he believes it can be.
“I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy. However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company. As a result, I am offering to buy 100% of Twitter for $54.20 per share in cash, a 54% premium over the day before I began investing in Twitter and a 38% premium over the day before my investment was publicly announced. My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder. Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it.”
Musk writes in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). However, since investing, I’ve realized that the company, in its current form, will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative.
According to The Guardian, Musk also stated that “this is not a threat… It’s simply not a good investment without the changes that need to be made.” According to The Guardian, Twitter has acknowledged Musk’s “unsolicited” offer and plans to “carefully review” it. It will then “determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interests of the company and all Twitter stockholders.”
Musk is currently the richest person on the planet, with a net worth of $274 billion USD. As a result, his proposed purchase of Twitter should not be a financial concern for him.
