Twitter acquisition

Extracted Attributes

• Acquirer

  Elon Musk

• Rebranding

  X

• Stated Goals

  Restore free speech, open-source algorithms, combat spambots, create an 'everything app' (X)

• Target Company

  Twitter, Inc.

• Price per Share

  54.20 USD

• Acquisition Price

  44 billion USD

• New Parent Company

  X Corp.

• Later CEO of X Corp.

  Linda Yaccarino

• Initial CEO post-acquisition

  Elon Musk

• Initial Shareholding (Musk by April 2022)

  9.1 percent

Timeline

• Elon Musk begins buying shares of Twitter, Inc. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2022-01

• Elon Musk becomes Twitter's largest shareholder with a 9.1 percent ownership stake. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2022-04

• Elon Musk makes an unsolicited offer to purchase Twitter for $43 billion, or $54.20 per share. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2022-04-14

• Twitter's board unanimously accepts Elon Musk's buyout offer of $44 billion ($54.20 per share). (Source: Wikipedia, PR Newswire)

  2022-04-25

• Elon Musk announces his intention to terminate the acquisition agreement, citing Twitter's alleged breach of contract regarding spambot accounts. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2022-07

• Twitter files a lawsuit against Elon Musk in the Delaware Court of Chancery to enforce the agreement. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2022-07

• Weeks before the scheduled trial, Elon Musk reverses his decision and announces he will move forward with the acquisition. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2022-10

• The acquisition of Twitter, Inc. by Elon Musk is concluded. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2022-10-27

• The deal closes, Elon Musk becomes Twitter's new owner and CEO. Twitter is taken private and merged into a new parent company named X Corp. Top executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, Chief Legal Officer Vijaya Gadde, and General Counsel Sam Edgett, are fired. (Source: Wikipedia, CNN, ABC News)

  2022-10-28

• Elon Musk faces backlash for account suspensions, including ten journalists. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2022-12

• The Twitter service is rebranded as X. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2023-07

• Linda Yaccarino is appointed CEO of X Corp. (Source: Wikipedia)

  202X-XX-XX

• Elon Musk discusses the transformation of Twitter into X, his commitment to free speech, combating the 'Woke Mind Virus' with Grok AI, and the release of the 'Twitter Files' in a recent interview. (Source: Related Documents)

  202X-XX-XX

Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

Elon Musk initiated an acquisition of the American social media company Twitter, Inc. on April 14, 2022, and concluded it on October 27, 2022. Musk had begun buying shares of the company in January 2022, becoming its largest shareholder by April with a 9.1 percent ownership stake. Twitter invited Musk to join its board of directors, an offer he initially accepted before declining. On April 14, Musk made an unsolicited offer to purchase the company, to which Twitter's board responded with a "poison pill" strategy to resist a hostile takeover before unanimously accepting Musk's buyout offer of $44 billion on April 25. Musk stated that he planned to introduce new features to the platform, make its algorithms open-source, combat spambot accounts, and promote free speech, framing the acquisition as the cornerstone of X, an "everything app". In July, Musk announced his intention to terminate the agreement, asserting that Twitter had breached their agreement by refusing to crack down on spambot accounts. The company filed a lawsuit against Musk in the Delaware Court of Chancery shortly thereafter, with a trial scheduled for the week of October 17. Weeks before the trial was set to begin, Musk reversed course, announcing that he would move forward with the acquisition. The deal was closed on October 28, with Musk immediately becoming Twitter's new owner and CEO. Twitter was taken private and merged into a new parent company named X Corp. Musk promptly fired several top executives, including previous CEO Parag Agrawal. Musk has since proposed several reforms to Twitter and laid off half of the company's workforce. Hundreds of employees then resigned from the company after Musk issued an ultimatum demanding they commit to "extremely hardcore" work. Linda Yaccarino was appointed CEO of X Corp. In July 2023, the Twitter service was rebranded as X. Reactions to the buyout were mixed, with praise for Musk's planned reforms and vision for the company, particularly his calls for greater free speech, but criticism over fears of a potential rise in misinformation and disinformation, harassment, and hate speech on the platform. Within the United States, conservatives have largely supported the acquisition, while many liberals and former Twitter employees have voiced concerns about Musk's intentions. Since becoming owner, Musk has faced backlash for his handling of the company and account suspensions, including the December 2022 suspensions of ten journalists.

Web Search Results

• Elon Musk to Acquire Twitter - PR Newswire

  SAN FRANCISCO, April 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Twitter, Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an entity wholly owned by Elon Musk, for $54.20 per share in cash in a transaction valued at approximately $44 billion. Upon completion of the transaction, Twitter will become a privately held company. [...] Additional Information and Where to Find ItTwitter, its directors and certain executive officers are participants in the solicitation of proxies from stockholders in connection with the pending acquisition of Twitter (the "Transaction"). Twitter plans to file a proxy statement (the "Transaction Proxy Statement") with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") in connection with the solicitation of proxies to approve the Transaction. Additional information regarding such participants, [...] Bret Taylor, Twitter's Independent Board Chair, said, "The Twitter Board conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon's proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty, and financing. The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter's stockholders."

• Twitter confirms completion of Elon Musk's $44 billion acquisition deal

  Elon Musk has completed his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, the company confirmed in a securities filing Friday, putting the world’s richest man in charge of one of the world’s most influential social media platforms. [...] The deal’s closing removes a cloud of uncertainty that has hung over Twitter’s business, employees and shareholders for much of the year. It also averts a court battle that was set to take place if the acquisition did not close by 5 p.m. ET Friday. Elon Musk, Founder and Chief Engineer of SpaceX, speaks during the Satellite 2020 Conference in Washington, DC, United States on March 9, 2020. Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images [...] Despite multiple news outlets confirming the changes Thursday night, Twitter staff had still not formally been informed of the changes as of Friday morning, two Twitter employees told CNN. “Employees are left feeling completely rudderless — half our leaders are gone, those who remain are silent, and we’re watching the platform go crazy with people either joyously awaiting more layoffs or pushing the bounds of what previously was allowed,” one Twitter employee told CNN Friday.

• Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk - Wikipedia

  ### Acquisition announcement [edit] [...] ### Acquisition announcement [edit] [...] On April 14, 2022, Musk made an unsolicited and non-binding offer to Twitter to purchase the company for $43 billion, or $54.20 per share, and take it private.( Though the offer was made to company management, the bid was described as a hostile takeover attempt because of the implied threat to purchase the outstanding stock if management declined.( The board responded that it would "carefully review the proposal".(

• A timeline of Elon Musk's tumultuous Twitter acquisition - ABC News

  Tesla CEO Elon Musk completed the deal to acquire Twitter at his original offer price of $54.20 a share at a total cost of roughly $44 billion. In the ensuing days, Musk fired top executives, laid off half of the company's staff, formed a content moderation council that will review account reinstatements and revamped the platform's subscription service. [...] Oct. 28 – Musk closes a deal to acquire Twitter on the final day before the Delaware Chancery Court trial would have moved forward. Some of Twitter's top executives were fired, including CEO Parag Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Segal, chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde and general counsel Sam Edgett, according to a source. Musk said that he will forgo any significant content moderation or account reinstatement decisions until after the formation of a new committee devoted to the issues. [...] Musk reached an acquisition deal with Twitter in April, but over the ensuing weeks, he raised concerns over spam accounts on the platform, claiming Twitter had not provided him with an accurate estimate of their number. Twitter rebuked that claim, saying it has provided Musk with information in accordance with conditions set out in the acquisition deal.

• "The Acquisition of Twitter: The Legal Interplay Between Elon Musk ...

  This article examines the acquisition process of Twitter by Elon Musk. It will analyze the legal validity of Musk’s initial claims for rescinding his offer, as well as Twitter’s defense arguments. It will consider questions such as: Did Twitter cause a material adverse effect to its operations that would be a basis for Musk to avoid the deal? Did Musk run afoul of any regulatory requirements under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations? What [...] # University of Miami School of Law Institutional Repository My Account FAQ About Home Home > IR\_JOURNALS > University of Miami Business Law Review > Vol. 32 > Iss. 1 (2024) # University of Miami Business Law Review # The Acquisition of Twitter: The Legal Interplay Between Elon Musk, Shareholders, Employees, and the Government ## Authors Florence Shu-Blankson, Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law ## Document Type Article ## Abstract