Entrepreneur and business magnate Elon Musk announced Thursday that he has proposed to buy Twitter for USD54.20 per share, which amounts to around USD43 billion.
The decision comes after Musk, the founder of electric carmaker Tesla and space exploration company SpaceX, announced on April 4 that he bought a 9.2 percent share in Twitter, becoming the social media platform’s biggest investor.
“I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy,” Musk wrote in a security filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
“However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company,” he added.
Musk noted that his offer is final, and said that if it is not accepted, he would need to reconsider his position as a shareholder.
“Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it,” he added.
The stock price of Twitter was up 3.1 percent to USD45.85 per share at 0640EDT (1040GMT) before the market opening at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.