Elon Musk Secures $44B Deal for Social Media Platform Twitter

Under the helm of Elon Musk, Twitter is expected to transition to a privately-held company amid new features and functions

article-image

Elon Musk | Blockworks Exclusive Art by Axel Rangel

share

key takeaways

  • SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has reached a deal with Twitter’s board of directors to buy the platform
  • The $44 billion deal is expected to close sometime this year, subject to the approval of Twitter’s shareholders

Major social media platform Twitter said Monday it had entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an entity wholly owned by Elon Musk in a deal worth $44 billion.

Under the terms of the deal, Twitter shareholders are to receive $54.20 per share in cash for each share of Twitter common stock that they own, according to a press release.

The deal has been unanimously approved by Twitter’s Board of Directors and is expected to close sometime this year, subject to the approval of the platform’s stockholders.

Upon the deal’s completion, Twitter is expected to transition to a privately held company, ending its nine-year run as a publicly listed company on the New York Stock Exchange.

The buyout represents a 38% premium to Twitter’s closing stock price on April 1 — the final day Musk unveiled his 9% stake in the social media company.

Musk has secured $25.5 billion of fully committed debt and margin loan financing while providing an approximately $21.0 billion equity commitment, per the release.

A major platform for the crypto community, Twitter is often both been praised and reviled for its approach to content moderation, freedom of speech (or lack thereof) and user profile anonymity.

Loading Tweet..

Musk — who is estimated to be worth upwards of $268 billion, according to Forbes — said he wanted to improve Twitter through the introduction of new features, provide an open-source algorithm for the platform and tackle its spambots.

“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,” Musk said in the release.

There are also reportedly plans to turn the platform into a subscription-based model to bolster revenue and recoup some of Musk’s initial investment, according to Reuters’ reporting.

Whether that would appease the crypto community or drive users to seek alternatives remains to be seen. Musk, whose Twitter musings about crypto — particularly Dogecoin — have resulted in the wild oscillation in prices, is often viewed as both an inflammatory and influential figure within the community.

In January, Dogecoin payments on electric car company Tesla’s online shop went live for select items. At the time, the price of Doge shot up more than 17% within a 24-hour period.

Following a purchase of $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin last year in March, Musk announced via Twitter that Tesla would be accepting bitcoin as payment for vehicles before reneging two months later, citing environmental concerns.

On both occasions, bitcoin’s price movements coincided closely with Musk’s announcements, gaining 48% and then subsequently shedding 40% two months later.


Don’t miss the next big story – join our free daily newsletter.

Tags

Upcoming Events

HYATT REGENCY SALT LAKE CITY

TUES, OCT. 8, 2024

Guided by the expertise of Blockworks Research Analysts team, this one day event will feature senior leaders, entrepreneurs, and developers from across the crypto industry. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in an immersive experience to explore the latest trends, […]

Salt Lake City, UT

WED - FRI, OCTOBER 9 - 11, 2024

Pack your bags, anon — we’re heading west! Join us in the beautiful Salt Lake City for the third installment of Permissionless. Come for the alpha, stay for the fresh air. Permissionless III promises unforgettable panels, killer networking opportunities, and mountains […]

recent research

hivemapper.jpeg

Research

We believe crypto market participants overlook Hivemapper’s fundamental potential due to a poor understanding of both the niche map data market and Hivemapper’s positioning relative to incumbents. Hivemapper’s token model catalyzes both a cost and product advantage via unmatched map freshness and near real-time accuracy, which is its wedge into a market characterized by stale data and high data collection costs. Its current and potential future product suite may represent one of the strongest possibilities for PMF in crypto today.

article-image

👨‍⚖️ SBF’s courtroom sequel: Plus, Coinbase’s legal loss was DeFi’s gain

article-image

Public mining companies have been acquiring sites, refreshing machine fleets and diversifying business models in preparation for the event

article-image

Exploit shows centralization can sometimes be an asset

article-image

The Fidelity Ethereum Fund, like other proposed ETH ETFs, seeks to stake a portion of its assets, according to the firm’s Wednesday registration statement

article-image

The DAO first voted on enabling SAFE transfers over a year ago