Elon Musk has made an offer to buy Twitter for $54.20 per share, claiming that the social media firm needs to be privatized to transform it into a platform for free speech.
In a letter to Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor, Musk said
“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,”
In the letter, disclosed via a 13-D filing, Musk said that if the offer is not accepted he would “need to consider [his] position as a shareholder.”
According to the note, the price is a 54% premium over the day he began investing in Twitter and a 38% premium over the day his 9.2% investment was publicly publicized.
The move comes after a week of back-and-forth about his official role at the corporation. Musk announced earlier this week that he would not be joining Twitter’s board of directors, preventing him from expanding his stake in the social media company beyond 14.9%.
The announcement comes five days after Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announced Musk’s appointment to the firm’s board of directors, following the billionaire’s purchase of a 9.2% interest in the company.
Former Twitter Inc shareholders sued Elon Musk on Tuesday, claiming they missed out on the recent run-up in the stock price because he delayed too long to reveal a 9.2% ownership in the social media business.
Musk, the CEO of electric vehicle firm Tesla Inc, made “materially false and misleading representations and omissions” by failing to disclose his investment in Twitter by March 24, as required by federal law, according to a proposed class action filed in federal court in Manhattan.
Twitter was trading at $45.85 at press time.