Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register April 14 (Reuters) – Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter (TWTR.N) for about $ 41 billion in cash, saying the much-criticized social media company needs to be privatized to see effective change. The price of Musk of 54.20 dollars per share, which was revealed in a regulatory deposit on Thursday, represents a premium of 38% at the close of Twitter on April 1, the last trading day before the announcement of the share of more than 9% of its CEO Tesla (TSLA.O) to the company. The billionaire turned down an offer to join Twitter’s board earlier this week after revealing his stake in the company, a move that analysts say signaled his intention to take over the company as the board’s position would limit its share in just under 15%. read more Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register “Ever since I made my investment, I now realize that the company will neither thrive nor serve this social imperative in its current form. Twitter must be transformed into a private company,” Musk said in a letter to the President of Twitter. , Brett Taylor. Musk, who calls himself a dictator of free speech, has criticized the social networking platform and its policies and recently conducted a Twitter poll asking users if they thought the platform complied with the principle of free speech. “My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I will have to reconsider my position as a shareholder,” Musk added. Twitter will consider Musk’s offer with advice from Goldman Sachs & Co and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, a source told Reuters. Shares of the company jumped 12% in preliminary trading, while those of Tesla fell about 1%. The total value of the transaction was estimated based on 763.58 million shares outstanding, according to Refinitiv. Musk has amassed more than 80 million followers since joining the site in 2009 and has used the platform to make many announcements, including teasing a go-private deal for Tesla that led him into hot water with regulators. He has also been sued by former Twitter shareholders who claim they lost the recent rise in his share price because he waited too long to reveal his share. read more The lower-than-expected additions of Twitter users in recent months have cast doubt on its growth prospects, even as it pursues major projects such as voice chat rooms and newsletters to end long-term stagnation. “It would be difficult for any other bidder / consortium to show up and the Twitter board would be forced to accept this offer and / or follow an active process to sell Twitter,” Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives wrote in a note. customer. “There will be a lot of questions about funding, regulation, balancing Musk time (Tesla, SpaceX) in the coming days, but ultimately based on that deposit it is an offer now or never for Twitter to accept it,” he said. Ives. Musk said Morgan Stanley was the financial advisor for the offer. “Twitter has great potential. I will unlock it,” Musk said in a letter. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Chavi Mehta, Uday Sampath and Greg Romeliotis. Edited by Anil D’Silva Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
