Twitter accepts Musk's $44 billion acquisition! Twitter CEO: I don't know the future direction of the platform

It is learned that after Musk raised a $46.5 billion (£36.4 billion) financing plan to acquire the social media platform Twitter, the Twitter board initially opposed Musk's acquisition plan by adopting a "poison pill plan". But on April 21, after the world's richest man submitted the details of the bidding funds, on April 25, the Twitter board voted on Musk's proposal to acquire the entire platform and unanimously agreed to sell it to the owner of SpaceX. The completion of this transaction also means that Twitter will become a privately held company and will end Twitter's operation as a public company since its initial public offering in 2013.

Twitter agreed to Musk's offer price of $54.20 per share and may soon announce a transaction with a valuation of $44 billion. The transaction is expected to be completed in 2022, subject to approval by Twitter shareholders, relevant regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Analysts said no regulatory obstacles are expected. Musk himself could not hide his excitement and retweeted the relevant statement on the same day, accompanied by "Yesss!!!" and patterns such as hearts, stars and rockets to express his joy.

Twitter will also hold its annual meeting on May 25, where shareholders will vote on whether to change the board structure to a one-year term instead of a three-year term. Musk has said he wants to allow some Twitter shareholders to retain shares after gaining control, but it's unclear how that structure would work with a more traditional tender offer.

It is reported that Twitter was created by Jack Dorsey in 2006 and has more than 350 million active users per month. Musk has more than 83 million followers on Twitter and is a prolific and often controversial Twitter user. On March 14, Musk acquired a stake of just over 9% of Twitter and posted a series of posts. Although some of the posts have been deleted, they also hinted at changes to the platform.

Musk has been critical of free speech policies on social networks. He also pointed out other areas Twitter needs to improve, such as adding an edit button for published tweets and removing advertising features. Twitter shares rose 5.6% to $51.68 in afternoon trading in New York after the news broke.

Musk's main ambition for his soon-to-be-owned Twitter appears to be shaping the company into his self-described vision of "free speech absolutism." In a letter to Twitter's board this month, Musk said Twitter is "a platform for global free speech" but cannot fulfill that "social responsibility" in its current form and "needs to transform into a private company." Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Political activists expect Musk to reinstate banned individuals, including former President Donald Trump, after acquiring Twitter. But some human rights activists have expressed concerns about a rise in hate speech.

It is reported that Twitter initially banned Trump due to concerns that his supporters would incite violence after attacking the U.S. Capitol. Trump's company is currently building a social media platform similar to Twitter called "TruthSocial". On April 25, Trump said in an interview that he "would not return to Twitter."

The deal represents a nearly 40% premium to Twitter's closing price the day before, on March 14, when Musk bought a little over 9% of the company. Musk's move continues a tradition of billionaires buying influential media platforms, following Jeff Bezos' purchase of the Washington Post in 2013. Musk, who is worth $268 billion, according to Forbes, has said he is not primarily concerned with Twitter's economics.

It is learned that on April 25, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal told employees: "Once the transaction is completed, we don't know which direction the platform will go."

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