Twitter Board Nears Deal With Elon Musk to Sell for $43 Billion in Cash

Elon Musk said Friday that his planned $44 billion purchase of Twitter is «temporarily on hold» pending details on spam and fake accounts on the social media platform, another twist amid signs of internal turmoil over the proposed acquisition.In a tweet, the Tesla billionaire linked to a Reuters story from May 2 citing a financial filing from Twitter that estimated false or spam accounts made up fewer than 5% of the company's «monetizable daily active users» in the first quarter.«Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users,» Musk said, indicating he's skeptical that the number of inauthentic accounts is that low.A short time later on Friday morning, Musk tweeted that he remains committed to the purchase. Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of usershttps://t.co/Y2t0QMuuynIt wasn't clear whether the issue could scuttle the deal. Shares of both Twitter and Tesla swung sharply in opposite directions, with Twitter's stock tumbling 17% to $37.20 before trading opened in the U.S, and Tesla, which Musk had proposed using to help fund the Twitter deal, jumping 5%.

Naman Ramachandran The Twitter deal is temporarily on hold, billionaire Elon Musk posted on Friday.“Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users,” Musk posted on Twitter.Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of usershttps://t.co/Y2t0QMuuyn— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 13, 2022In the tweet, Musk provided a link to a May 2 Reuters article quoting Twitter’s filing on Monday. “Twitter Inc estimated in a filing on Monday that false or spam accounts represented fewer than 5% of its monetizable daily active users during the first quarter,” the Reuters piece said.Musk has been vocal about cleaning the platform of spam bots.

The method behind the mega-purchase. Elon Musk made headlines around the world when he bought Twitter — and now he’s explaining why he did it.

Elon Musk brought a very special lady to this year's Met Gala — his mom, Maye Musk, and the pair seemed to have a great time at the star-studded celebration of fashion.This year's Met Gala accompanies the second part of the Costume Institute's exhibition, «In America: An Anthology of Fashion,» with the controversial theme «Gilded Glamour and White Tie.» The concept is a homage to the United States' Gilded Age, an era of immense economic growth and major industrialization, as well as massive income inequality, political upheaval, and post-Civil War racism.Musk himself has been at the center of some controversy recently and has faced criticism for his $44 billion purchase of Twitter, with critics chastising him for not spending that money on philanthropic efforts.Speaking with ET's Rachel Smith on the carpet the the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on Monday, Musk defended the acquisition, arguing, «I do a lot of things philanthropically.»«Really, my companies are intended to do good for the future of humanity,» he continued. «With Tesla trying to accelerate the advances in sustainable transport and energy and SpaceX is um providing internet to the lesser [served] people of the world.»«We are able to help Ukraine with the Starlink terminals and give connectivity, particularly in some of the hardest hit areas,» Musk added.

Elon Musk has an agreement to buy Twitter. But no one can agree on what that means, and Bill Maher’s HBO show Real Time spent a good portion of Friday’s run trying to make sense of it.

The Tesla mogul and richest man in the world made a surprise offer to buy the social media platform putting in a succesful bid of $54. 20 a share to acquire it which the board accepted. “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,” Mr Musk said in a statement.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorTwitter is now in Elon Musk’s hands. What his successful maneuver to buy the company means for its 200 million-plus users — or for media and entertainment companies that use the platform to reach global audiences — is anything but clear.In the space of three weeks, Musk went from disclosing a 9.2% stake in Twitter to clinching a $44 billion deal for the company on April 25.

Elon Musk in a deal that values the company at $44 billion, the board announced Monday afternoon.«The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter's stockholders,» Bret Taylor, the company's independent board chair, said in a statement.Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, reiterated his plans to remake Twitter as a forum dedicated to promoting free speech.«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,» he said in a statement.Musk also said he plans on «making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans» on the platform.It's the largest deal to take a company private in at least two decades, reported.The board voted unanimously in favor of the acquisition. The deal is expected to close this year, subject to the approval of Twitter's shareholders.The official acquisition caps off a drama worth of a soap opera between the famously mercurial Musk and one of the world's most prominent social networks.The billionaire disclosed earlier this month that he had become Twitter's largest shareholder, and soon after proposed to buy the company outright and take it private.

The Good Place star Jameela Jamil is quitting Twitter and it’s all because of the sale of the platform to Elon Musk.

Billionaire Elon Musk is set to buy Twitter for approximately £34.5 billion after reaching an agreement with the company.

Billionaire provocateur Elon Musk has sealed his acquisition of Twitter, leaving a major social media platform in the hands of the impulsive head of two other companies, SpaceX and Tesla.

Twitter and Elon Musk are said to be close to clinching a sale of the social media giant to Elon Musk after the Tesla CEO came through with finanancing late last week.

Naman Ramachandran The 11-member Twitter board met on Sunday to consider billionaire Elon Musk’s $43 billion takeover offer for the social media company, according to reports.Musk “wooed many of the social media company’s shareholders with financing details on his $43 billion acquisition offer,” according to Reuters which quoted people familiar with the matter. “The company’s decision to engage with Musk… does not mean that it will accept his $54.20 per share bid,” according to Reuters.

Elon Musk is serious about that offer.

filing with the SEC. The $46.5 billion – backed by debt commitment letters from Morgan Stanley and other financial firms – is $3.5 billion more than the $43 billion of his publicized offer, though it was not immediately clear whether that represented a higher price-point offer or just buys Musk additional negotiating wiggle-room.The filing says Twitter has not responded, and that Musk is exploring “whether to commence a tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Common Stock … at a price of $54.20 per share.” Any shareholder could choose to take the offer; if a majority (plus Musk’s outstanding shares, just over 9%) were to agree, he could take control — though Twitter’s recently enacted “poison pill” conditions could upend that process.The filing is notable in that it prevents Musk from making the same mistake a second time: The Tesla CEO got in hot water with the SEC for tweeting in 2018 that he was “considering taking Tesla private at $420.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorTech billionaire Elon Musk is moving forward with his potential bid to acquire Twitter, revealing that he has lined up $46.5 billion in financing for a possible tender offer for the company.The financing was disclosed in an SEC filing Thursday. Musk’s financing includes commitments from Morgan Stanley and “certain other financial institutions.”According to the filing, Musk has not yet determined whether he will make a tender offer for Twitter or whether he will take other steps to further the proposal.Last week, Musk — the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX who is the wealthiest person on the planet — proposed to buy Twitter for about $43 billion in a hostile takeover, offering $54.20 per share for the social media company.