In one of the tech world’s biggest deals, Elon Musk has taken control of the social media site Twitter. Through this deal, he will be acquiring the social network for around USD 44 billion with the shares of the company being valued at $54.20.

Overview:

• On 14^th April 2022, Musk announced his plans of taking over Twitter.
• Elon Musk has plans to make Twitter a private organization.

Reason for buying Twitter

Musk wanted to buy Twitter as he wants to use the platform as a mechanism for free speech. There are plans to make the digital platform into a much more important place where anyone can discuss any topic freely. Also, there are plans of making the platform better by enhancing the digital product with new features, getting rid of spambots, and authenticating all humans who will be using Twitter. The algorithms will also be made open source to increase trust.

Initial bid

The initial bid by Musk saw Twitter implement a ‘poison pill defence’ to fight against the hostile takeover. However, after announcements by Musk regarding the securing of funding, the board started negotiations.

Financing

Musk has raised USD 25.5 billion of fully committed debt and has raised margin loan financing from around a dozen banks so as to back the bid. After the competition of this deal, Twitter will become a privately held organization.

Running of Twitter

Chairman Bret Taylor and Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal are still in their respective roles for now. But, Musk has repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with the board of Twitter and the running of the company. After a change in a company’s ownership, management changes are a common thing but Musk is already CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, so his capacity to function as the CEO of Tesla could be limited. Musk plans to utilize this platform as a haven for free speech. He also has plans of turning the headquarters of the company into a homeless shelter. Ads will be removed for the paid users and there will be better authentication checks.