[Twitter Acquisition] Musk Finally Secures Deal... Agrees to 55 Trillion Won Acquisition 11 Days After Proposal

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] Social media platform Twitter has ultimately fallen into the hands of Elon Musk, the world's richest person and CEO of Tesla. This came as Twitter's board of directors reversed its stance and agreed to accept Musk's acquisition offer. This decision was made just 11 days after Musk first proposed the acquisition.

On the 25th (local time), Twitter announced that it had agreed to be sold for $54.20 per share, totaling $44 billion, according to Musk's proposal. Musk also stated in a press release, "Freedom of expression is the foundation for democracy to function, and Twitter is a digital town square where important discussions about humanity's future take place," adding, "I want to make Twitter better than ever."

The $54.20 per share price represents a 38% premium based on the trading day immediately before Musk disclosed his approximately 9% stake in Twitter. This transaction, which takes a publicly traded company private, is the largest of its kind in the past 20 years. The acquisition process is expected to be completed within the year after shareholder votes and regulatory approvals.

Initially, Twitter showed resistance by activating a poison pill strategy right after Musk's acquisition proposal. However, after Musk revealed a $46.5 billion funding plan on the 21st, the company adopted a more favorable stance. Twitter board chairman Brett Taylor said, "We believe this is the best path forward for Twitter shareholders."

The New York Times (NYT) described this as "a victory for the world's richest person attempting to acquire an influential social media platform," calling the blockbuster deal "the grand finale of Musk's acquisition attempt, which was once considered impossible and known for his unpredictability." However, questions remain in the market about what Musk will do with the acquisition and what impact it will have on global online discourse going forward.

On the same day, Twitter closed at $51.70, up 5.66% from the previous session on the New York Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, Tesla closed down 0.70%.