Just recently, all of us heard the news that Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla was offered a seat on Twitter’s board which he turned down. Being appointed as a board member will limit how many shares a person can hold in the company. He also previously bought a 9.2% stake in the social media giant which made him the largest stakeholder in the company.
Twitter’s CEO, Parag Agarwal announced on Sunday that Musk will no longer be joining the Twitter board of members. This was after Elon Musk shared some critical tweets about the social media giant on his Twitter account.
Elon Musk announced yesterday that it has made an offer to buy Twitter for around $41 billion. This was announced in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The offer price made by Musk is $54.20 per share in cash. This is a 38% premium to the last trading day (Thursday) close of Twitter before Musk invested more than nine percent in the company. This offer can be the beginning of an open battle between Parag Agarwal and the Tesla owner.
“(Twitter) will neither thrive nor serve societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company”
-Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla
Elon Musk feels that the company is not living up to its potential and it shows a lack of confidence in Twitter’s Management. The Tesla owner wants to boost free speech and democracy around the world. He believes that this is the best and final offer that the company will get which will enable him to unlock the potential of the company.
Elon Musk said in a letter to the chairman of Twitter, Bret Taylor, “(Twitter) will neither thrive nor serve societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company”
“If the deal doesn’t work, given that I don’t have confidence in management nor do I believe I can drive the necessary change in the public market, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder.”
Elon Musk clarified that it is not a threat and he feels that without the changes it is simply not a good investment. Musk has been always outspoken about the changes and updates he would like to see on Twitter. One of his Tweets suggested that the number of Tweets that high-profile celebrities make on Twitter might suggest that the platform is dying.
Analysts are suggesting that the Twitter Board would probably be forced to accept this offer or they may have to seek another buyer. Twitter has confirmed that it has received an “unsolicited” proposal and the board will be reviewing it carefully. They will ultimately “determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the company and all Twitter stockholders”.
In order to reassure the employees who panicked after the news broke out, the CEO held a meeting and addressed that the company is not being “held hostage”. He encouraged the employees to work and remain focused.