U.S. social media company Twitter announced on Monday (April 25) that its board of directors had accepted an acquisition deal from billionaire Tesla founder Elon Musk, as well as accepted a proposal to take Twitter private.
According to a press release issued by Twitter, Musk will buy in cash at $54.20 per share, with a total value of about $44 billion. After the transaction is completed, Twitter will become a private company.
Musk responded with a simple statement on Twitter: "Free speech is the cornerstone of a democratic operation, and Twitter is a digital city square where people can discuss matters that are vital to the future of humanity." "We want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making algorithms open source for added trust, beating spam bots, and authenticating everyone." Twitter has tremendous potential – and I look forward to working with the company and the user community to unlock the future." ”
Musk's proposed deal to acquire Twitter was unanimously approved by Twitter's board of directors and is expected to close later this year. Musk has secured $25.5 billion in full committed debt and margin loan financing and will provide about $21 billion in equity commitments to complete the deal, the statement said.
Bret Taylor, chairman of Twitter's independent board, said in a statement that Twitter's board of directors considered and comprehensively considered Musk's proposal, particularly in terms of merger value, certainty and financing. "The proposed deal will result in a substantial cash premium, which we believe is the best path for Twitter shareholders."
The Wall Street Journal said it would be one of the biggest acquisitions in tech history if successful and could have a global impact on the way billions of people use social media in the coming years.
After news broke that Twitter accepted Musk's acquisition proposal, the price of Dogecoin soared by about 27% at one point. Musk has long been a champion of cryptocurrencies, and in addition to talking about Dogecoin, his Tesla company is one of the biggest corporate buyers of Bitcoin. Earlier this month, Musk also made a series of recommendations for Twitter's Twitter Blue subscription service, including price cuts, banning ads and allowing users to pay with Dogecoin.
Dogecoin founder Shibetoshi Nakamoto tweeted that he hopes Dogecoin will add useful features: 1. Improve the commercial application of Dogecoin 2. Dogecoin as tip currency3. Build a bridge between Dogecoin and Ethereum, allowing it to work with Web3. Musk responded that the first affirmation, the second is good, and the third is not needed.
Maybe soon, we'll be able to see Dogecoin on Twitter.
However, after Musk wins Twitter, he will face a series of outstanding questions: Who will be Twitter's new CEO? How much control will Musk exert? How to achieve free speech on Twitter? ...... We will continue to pay attention.