With an estimated user base of over 450 million, Twitter is one of the most influential social media platforms in the world. But after multi-billionaire Elon Musk struck a $44 billion deal to take over the company, there are questions about the platform’s direction.
The deal has been surrounded by uncertainty, mostly caused by clashes between Musk and Twitter’s board, which led to a lawsuit and the subsequent deadline to close the deal. Twitter shares are also volatile, with their movements dependent on Musk’s actions.
Twitter’s Chief Customer Officer Sarah Personett tweeted that the company’s “continued commitment to brand safety for advertisers remains unchanged,” but now that Musk is responding, a question mark hangs over the social network’s future plans.
Does Elon Musk own Twitter now?
It took Elon Musk a while, but he finished his original 44 billion dollars a deal to buy Twitter. The billionaire, who is Tesla’s largest shareholder and CEO, began talks with Twitter earlier this year.
Musk started buying Twitter shares in January 2022 and increased its holdings by about 5% through March. He also began contacting Twitter board members to inform them of his rising stock, as well as to initiate a conversation about potentially joining Twitter’s board.
On April 4, 2022, it was revealed that Musk had quickly outbid other investors to own the largest stake in Twitter, with a 9% interest valued at around $3 billion.
Musk decided to delay the purchase of the company because he claimed he needed more details about fake and spam accounts on the site. He then backed out of the deal because Twitter allegedly first refused to release that information and then provided what Musk described as inaccurate statistics. Twitter executives denied that claim.
That set off a chain reaction of legal action: Twitter sued Musk to pressure him into doing the deal, but Musk countersued. A Delaware judge eventually mediated for both sides and set an October 28, 2022, deadline for the settlement.
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Why did Elon Musk buy Twitter?
Musk justified his purchase of the social media platform (on Twitter, of course) by saying, “The reason I acquired Twitter is that it is important for the future of civilization to have a common digital town square where a wide range of beliefs can to be discussed in a healthy way without resorting to violence.”
The CEO of Tesla repeated that his reasoning went beyond financial gain, but he did it to “help humanity.”
Musk also announced the deal by tweeting a video of himself entering Twitter headquarters carrying a sink, captioning it “Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!”
With his acquisition, Musk is determined to make significant changes, especially regarding free speech and inactive users. “Twitter cannot become a free-for-all hell where anything can be said without consequence!” he added.
Following the Musk takeover, it was announced that Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal, and Executive Director of Legal and Policy Affairs Vijaya Gade were leaving the company. One of Twitter’s co-founders, Biz Stone, confirmed their departure via tweet: “Thank you for [Agrawal], [Gadde] and [Segal] for the collective contribution to Twitter. Huge talents, all of them, and beautiful people!”
How is Twitter’s stock price changing?
Twitter’s stock price fell in March due to rising interest rates and impending inflation. The social media platform’s ad spending has declined, sending its share price down from $63 at its peak in November to $33.
Musk began buying shares in Twitter in January 2022 and by March had acquired a 5% stake in the company. With a 9% stake, he became Twitter’s largest shareholder in April. The stock price rose about 50% as news of these investments spread.
Musk put the transaction “temporarily on hold” after making an offer to buy Twitter for $54.20 per share, prompting him to try to pull out. Twitter’s stock price fell back to its previous level Price range per share of $33 when Musk countersued Twitter after the company sued him for pulling out.
Finally, after Musk approved the $44 billion deal, Twitter’s prices rose more than 12% once again, and since the social media business accepted the offer, the stock price has been between $50 and $54 (53.90 to 54, 20 dollars).
How much of Twitter does Elon Musk own?
Elon Musk has decided to turn Twitter from a publicly traded company to a private company, meaning it will be exempt from the requirement to publicly disclose financial and performance data.
Freed from the regulatory and shareholder pressures that come with running a public company, Musk has greater direct authority, and he will be able to directly manage Twitter’s content, policies and money if he chooses.
As a result, the board of directors will dissolve and its nine members will no longer have any influence over the organization. However, Musk is still preparing to create a new board made up of his inner circle and other investors, as required by law.
Who Owned Twitter Before Elon Musk?
Jack Dorsey, along with Noah Glass, Biz Stone and Evan Williams, started Twitter in 2006. According to regulatory submission, institutional investors previously held control of the platform, with Vanguard Group holding the largest position (10.3%) at the time. Investment firms BlackRock and StateStreet held 4.75%, while Morgan Stanley Investment Management had 8.4%.
With a 10.3% stake in Twitter as of April 2022, The Vanguard Group overtook Musk as the company’s largest shareholder before its takeover.
The previous CEO, Parag Agrawal, also had a significant stake (about 128,000 shares) that would be worth nearly $7 million under Musk current agreementwhich provides that each share is worth $54.20.
Agrawal was originally supposed to receive $60 million in compensation in addition to the proceeds from the sale of the shares. However, it is still unclear whether Musk still plans to abide by this agreement.
How did Elon Musk pay for Twitter?
Musk made his first offer to buy Twitter for $44 billion around mid-April, putting the board under pressure to negotiate after securing $46.5 billion in financing to acquire the business.
After some legal wrangling over Musk’s resignation and being sued by Twitter, the deal was consolidated into a lawsuit with an Oct. 28 deadline. When that happened, Twitter’s stock fell while Tesla’s rose.
To support the purchase, other banks, including Bank of America Corp., also agreed to contribute $13 billion in loans. Another financial boost is the sale of his Tesla shares, which also fund the bulk of his $220 billion fortune.
Musk’s $33.5 billion investment includes his 9.6 percent ownership in Twitter, which is worth about $4 billion, as well as $7.1 billion he received from equity investors, including Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle.
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https://techmonitor.ai/policy/who-owns-twitter