Elon Musk makes an offer to buy 100% of Twitter

It has launched a nearly 40 billion euro (along with cash) takeover offer.

Tesla owner Elon Musk became Twitter’s majority shareholder a week ago. And now he wants to buy 100% of the company, as he announced on Thursday: he has launched a tender offer of nearly 40 billion euros.

The takeover offer (OPA) on Twitter is valued at $43.394 billion (€39.803 billion), according to a statement sent by the social network to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The businessman — Time Magazine’s 2021 Person of the Year and Forbes’ World’s Richest Businessman — made an offer entirely in cash. Elon Musk offered $54.20 per share of Twitter stock, a 54% premium to when Musk began buying Twitter shares on Jan. 28 and a 38% premium to April 1 when he revealed his position at the company.

By taking over all of the shares in this operation, Twitter will be excluded from the stock market if the board approves the offer and shareholders accept the offer.

“I invested in Twitter because I believe it has the potential to be a platform for freedom of expression around the world, and I believe that freedom of expression is a social requirement for a functioning democracy”

“I invested in Twitter because I believe it has the potential to be a platform for freedom of expression around the world, and I believe freedom of expression is a societal requirement for a functioning democracy. However, since I made the investment, I have realized the company will not thrive in its current form or serve this societal need. Twitter needs to transform into a private company,”Musk assured in a letter to the board, in which he laid out his proposal.

Musk currently owns 73.1 million shares of Twitter, equivalent to 9.1% of the company’s share capital. If the deal goes through, the businessman must pay $39.431 billion (€36.168 billion) for the 90.9% he does not already control.

“Twitter has extraordinary potential. I’ll unlock it”

Morgan Stanley acted as Elon Musk’s financial advisor in the operation, according to a statement sent to the SEC. In your letter to the council, you stress that the current offer is your best and only offer. Musk threatened to “reconsider” his status as a shareholder if the board didn’t accept it.

“Twitter has extraordinary potential. I’ll unlock it,”Musk has settled down.

​Freedom of speech
That same week, the businessman decided not to sit on Twitter’s board. The company’s CEO, Parag Agrawal, announced the news in a tweet, to which Musk reacted by covering his mouth with his hand, an emoji on his face.

Recently, the billionaire became a critic of the social networks and questioned whether its rules adhered “strictly” to free speech principles.

Such criticism has raised doubts in some quarters, including among Twitter employees themselves, who fear Musk will abuse his power within the company to change its ethical publishing standards, including banning the former U.S. president. Attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Twitter stock rises
Shares of Twitter rose about 3% when the Nasdaq opened on Thursday after Musk’s announcement. As a result, Twitter stock was trading at $47.12 at 3:35 p.m., still well below the $54.20 per share in the takeover offer.

It has launched a nearly 40 billion euro (along with cash) takeover offer.