Elon Musk makes $43bn offer to buy all of Twitter: Read billionaire’s bid as he says ‘this is not a threat’

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Elon Musk has made a shocking bid to buy Twitter for $43 billion, saying in the filing to the US Securities and Exchanges Commission that ‘this is not a threat’.

The billionaire said that he did not have confidence in the social media company’s management, making the shock offer for $54.20 per share.

Mr Musk wrote to Bret Taylor, the chairman of Twitter’s board: “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.

“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.

“As a result, I am offering to buy 100% of Twitter for $54.20 per share in cash, a 54% premium over the day before I began investing in Twitter and a 38% premium over the day before my investment was publicly announced. My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder.”

Mr Musk had initially purchased just under 10 per cent of Twitter’s stock, and would have been a member of its board before a surprise u-turn.

“Elon is our biggest shareholder and we will remain open to his input,” chief executive Parag Agarwal said, adding that he believes this is “for the best”.

However, Mr Musk has told Mr Taylor that he believed the company should be private and that changes need to be made.

“I am not playing the back-and-forth game”, Mr Musk said. “I have moved straight to the end. It's a high price and your shareholders will love it. f 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.”

He continued: “This is not a threat, it's simply not a good investment without the changes that need to be made. And those changes won't happen without taking the company private.”

In a statement, Twitter said: “The Twitter Board of Directors will carefully review the proposal to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the Company and all Twitter stockholders.”