BREAKING: Elon Musk buys Twitter for $54.20 per share in takeover deal worth $44BN

Tesla tycoon takes social media giant private and promises ‘new features, to defeat the spam bots and to make the algorithms open source to increase trust’
Elon Musk has seized control of Twitter for $44billion as weeks of rollercoaster negotiations finally came to a close this afternoon.
The Tesla magnate agreed to pay shareholders $54.20 in cash for each share of common stock before the bombshell deal was struck.
The move shifts control of the social media platform populated by millions of users and global leaders to the world’s richest person.
Musk vowed to protect free speech on Twitter, ‘defeat the spam bots’ and ‘authenticate all humans’ as he welcomed the acquisition.
He also revealed he planned to ‘enhance the product with new features’ and ‘make the algorithms open source to increase trust’.
And earlier the 50-year-old tycoon called for his ‘worst critics’ to remain on the platform because ‘that is what free speech means’.
But despite recent speculation former President Donald Trump said he would not be rejoining the site if Musk allowed him to – instead saying he would continue to use his own TRUTH Social.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal said he was ‘proud of our teams and inspired by the work that has never been more important’ after the new broke.
Chairman Bret Taylor said ‘we believe it is the best path forward for stockholders’ and added the board had ‘conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon’s proposal’.
The deal brings to an end one of the most dramatic takeover bids in history and sent shockwaves through the world of business.
The news was celebrated as a ‘victory for free speech’ by many users, with them calling for an end to ‘shadow banning’ when posts disappear from people’s timelines without warning.
But others were quick to voice their concern that one of the biggest social media platforms was in the hands of the world’s richest person.
Elon Musk vowed to protect free speech on Twitter, ‘defeat the spam bots’ and ‘authenticate all humans’ as he welcomed the acquisition.
He also revealed he planned to ‘enhance the product with new features’ and ‘make the algorithms open source to increase trust’.
He said: ‘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.
‘I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans.
‘Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.’
Twitter released a statement saying it had agreed with Musk for him to buy the social media giant for $54.20 per share in cash – working out as about $44billion in total.
It means the company will be taken private when the transaction is completed.
Under the terms of the agreement, stockholders will receive $54.20 in cash for each share of common stock they owned when the deal was struck.
It represents a 38 per cent premium to Twitter’s closing stock price on April 1 – the last trading day before Musk said he had taken on a 9 per cent stake.
Musk said: ‘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.
‘I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans.
‘Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.’

Courtesy: Daily Mail