In what’s become the biggest “will they/won’t they” story since Ross and Rachel, the Twitter board has finally decided to accept Musk’s $44 billion takeover offer. Early speculation on Monday morning led Twitter stock to rally after a weeks-long slump. Ironically, the stock’s recent decline in performance had been attributed to a lack of confidence in the Musk/Twitter deal. That’s over with now, and we can expect stocks to take at least a short-term hike in the wake of the massive deal.
Where it started
The whole kerfuffle began earlier this month when Musk purchased 9.2% of Twitter’s stock to become its largest shareholder. Subsequently, the company offered Musk a board position in what most experts saw as a transparent attempt to stop the world’s richest man from purchasing more stock. At first, Musk signaled his willingness to accept the position. But he eventually declined before making a bid on the entire company. Why take a seat when you can grab the whole building? Twitter was reportedly reticent to accept the deal. Initial reports indicated the company’s board had unanimously voted for and instituted a so-called “poison pill” policy to prevent a potential hostile takeover. In the interim, it appeared Twitter might’ve avoided the buyout. There was even some speculation that a suitor who was more amenable to the status quo might come along. However, as CFRA senior equity analyst Angelo Zino told CNN, it became apparent that a “white knight” wasn’t going to show up and top Musk’s offer.
Where it’s going
Now that Musk’s in charge, denizens of the internet’s most politically-divided social media network can expect some changes. In a now-public letter to the Twitter board, Musk stressed his impetus to elicit wholesale reform within the company as a means of achieving his personal goals for the app:
Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 25, 2022
