Elon Musk Acquires Twitter for $44 Billion

On the 1st of April 2022, Elon Musk tweeted his offer to the board of Twitter to fully acquire the company offering a premium share price that valued the company at approximately $44 billion.

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What could have very easily sounded like an April Fool’s prank was actually far from it, as today the board has announced that they have accepted Elon’s proposal, and upon completion of the agreement, Twitter will become a privately owned company.

This brings in some interesting times for Twitter as Elon has publicly stated the changes he would like to see on the social platform. Whilst there hasn’t been any mention specifically of eCommerce we can only speculate at this time that with Twitter becoming a privately owned company by arguably one of the most successful entrepreneurs and business owners of the modern age that something will be coming.

The monetization aspect of Twitter is one that has some users worried as Elon has already stated that he doesn’t believe the current model works and perhaps a subscription model could be on the cards. As it stands right now this is all speculation but we will keep you up to date with any eCommerce announcements regarding Twitter. You can see the full announcement below.

Twitter Acquisition Announcement

Twitter, Inc, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an entity wholly owned by Elon Musk, for $54.20 per share in cash in a transaction valued at approximately $44 billion. Upon completion of the transaction, Twitter will become a privately held company.

Under the terms of the agreement, Twitter stockholders will receive $54.20 in cash for each share of Twitter common stock that they own upon closing of the proposed transaction. The purchase price represents a 38% premium to Twitter’s closing stock price on April 1, 2022, which was the last trading day before Mr. Musk disclosed his approximately 9% stake in Twitter.

“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.”

Bret Taylor, Twitter’s Independent Board Chair.

“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.”

Parag Agrawal, Twitter’s CEO.

“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.”

Elon Musk

Transaction Terms and Financing

The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the Twitter Board of Directors, is expected to close in 2022, subject to the approval of Twitter stockholders, the receipt of applicable regulatory approvals, and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

Mr. Musk has secured $25.5 billion of fully committed debt and margin loan financing and is providing an approximately $21.0 billion equity commitment. There are no financing conditions to the closing of the transaction. 

For further information regarding all terms and conditions contained in the definitive transaction agreement, please see Twitter’s Current Report on Form 8-K, which will be filed in connection with the transaction.

First Quarter 2022 Earnings Results

Twitter plans to release its first-quarter fiscal year 2022 results before the market open on April 28, 2022. In light of the pending transaction announced today, Twitter will not hold a corresponding conference call.