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Elon Musk, who is soon to be the official owner of Twitter, will complete a transaction valued at $44 billion after reaching an agreement with the board on Monday, according to PR Newswire.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO acquired Twitter for about $54.20 per share after days of deliberation with the company’s board of directors.
Immediately upon completion of the transaction, Twitter will be a privately held company.
The PR Newswire report reveals Twitter’s Independent Board Chair Bret Taylor said, “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.”
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal weighed in on the deal, stating, “Twitter has a purpose and relevance that impacts the entire world. Deeply proud of our teams and inspired by the work that has never been more important.”
Although Agrawal has not yet commented on the future of the company, Musk made it clear that he is moving ahead with restoring free speech.
Musk also laid out a list of immediate goals under his ownership:
“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. 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. Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”
Although the details of the anticipated deal are not yet public, the transaction is expected to close before the end of 2022.