Twitter’s board unanimously approves Elon Musk’s $44 billion Twitter takeover deal
Nickie Louise
Posted On June 21, 2022
Elon Musk is a step closer to becoming the new owner of Twitter after the company’s board of directors unanimously approved Elon Musk’s $44 billion Twitter takeover deal, an SEC filing document shows.
According to a regulatory filing with the SEC on Tuesday, which details a letter to investors, Twitter’s board of directors said that it “unanimously recommends that you vote (for) the adoption of the merger agreement.”
The regulatory filing is the latest sign that Musk is serious about following through on his acquisition plans. The announcement also comes just days after Musk held a virtual, all-hands meeting with Twitter employees. During the meeting, Musk told Twitter employees that “it’s essential to have free speech” and for people to be able to “communicate freely.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Twitter stockholders will receive $54.20 in cash for each share of Twitter common stock that they own upon closing the proposed transaction. The purchase price represents a 38% premium to Twitter’s closing stock price on April 1, 2022, which was the last trading day before Mr. Musk disclosed his approximately 9% stake in Twitter.
Meanwhile, if the deal were to close today, Twitter investors would pocket a profit of $15.22 for each share they own. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, who recently stepped down as CEO last year, also stands to pocket $978 million once Musk’s takeover is complete. Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal will go home with a $42 million payday as a result of the transaction.
On April 25, Twitter agreed to sell the company to Elon Musk for $44 billion but the deal hit a few bumps on the road after Elon Musk’s lawyers sent a letter to Twitter threatening to terminate the $44 billion deal over the inflated user data. Last week, Twitter agreed to comply with Elon Musk’s bot data demands.
The $44 billion purchase price represents a 38% premium to Twitter’s closing stock price on April 1, 2022, which was the last trading day before Mr. Musk disclosed his approximately 9% stake in Twitter. Musk needed to use his Tesla stock to raise $21 billion in equity to fund his takeover of the social media giant.
