It’s happening: Elon Musk strikes deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion

The board of directors of the company agreed to sell the company to Musk.

Musk said in the purchase announcement that free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and that the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated. I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.

The deal is pending shareholder approval and is expected to close later this year, just 10 days after the board approved a poison pill to prevent a hostile takeover in response to Musk's attempt to buy the company. After Musk lined up $46.5 billion in financing, board members started taking his offer more seriously. Hours after reports that a deal was close, the sale agreement was announced.

The deal is a definitive agreement to be acquired by an entity wholly owned by Musk for $54.20 per share in cash in a transaction valued at approximately $44 billion, according to the announcement.

Board cites “thoughtful and comprehensive process”

The board conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess the proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty and financing. The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for the stockholders.

If the purchase is completed, stockholders will receive cash for each share of their stock, a 38 percent premium to the closing stock price.

The sale to Musk was unanimously approved by the board and is expected to close in 2022, subject to the approval of the stockholders, the announcement said. Musk secured debt and margin loan financing of over 25 billion dollars and committed to provide $21 billion in equity.

Musk hopes his “worst critics remain on Twitter”

I hope that even the worst of my critics remain on the social media site, because that is what free speech is all about. Last year, Musk asked a college student to take down a account that tracked the movements of his private jet, because he wanted to protect free speech.

Musk agreed to join the board of the company after purchasing 9.2 percent of its stock. He backed out of the board seat deal, which would have prevented him from buying more than 14.9% of the company's stock.

The poison pill was unanimously approved by the directors, who seemed ready to fight Musk's takeover attempt.