Tesla and SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk, will pay $54.20 per Twitter's share (TWTR) as the social network has accepted his $44 billion offer, Reuters reports.
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Musk, who plans to take Twitter private, said in a statement that the social network has become a "digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated." The deal is expected to close some time this year. While the transaction has been approved by the board, it is still subject to a shareholder vote and is pending approval from regulators.
Musk announced plans to buy 100% earlier in April. According to documents filed with the SEC, the Tesla CEO offers $54.20 per share. Musk wrote in a statement his offer reflects his belief in Twitter's potential to be the "platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy."
Despite his initial purchase of 73,486,938 TWTR shares, which represents a 9.2% passive stake in the company, the Tesla CEO realized that the company will "neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company."
Musk also stressed that Twitter has "extraordinary potential" and with by purchasing the social network he "will unlock it." The move comes after Musk suggested reducing the cost of Twitter Blue subscriptions and allowing users to pay for the premium service in dogecoin (DOGE).
Musk earlier published a series of tweets stating the need to give each Twitter Blue subscriber an "authentication checkmark." He has also pointed out that the platform should stop advertising, as this "enhances the power of corporations to dictate policy."
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