Timeline: Musk's $44 billion Twitter buyout
STORY: ''Why are you messing with Twitter, bro?’’
''Giving people more freedom of speech’’
"Maybe bringing my man Trump back to Twitter. I think that would be nice.’’
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is taking over control of Twitter after striking a $44 billion deal.
From weed jokes, tweetstorm, to an agreed deal...here's how we got here.
On March 26, Musk asks his followers if a new social media platform is needed…
pointing to what he described as Twitter’s failure to adhere to free speech principles.
"Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy. What should be done?"
A day later, the world's richest man tweets that he is "giving serious thought" to building his own social media platform.
On April 4, Musk discloses he has taken a 9.2% share of Twitter, making him the micro-blogging site's largest shareholder.
The next day, Twitter announces it will offer Elon Musk a seat on its board of directors,
only for Musk to abandon the plan six days later.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) CFRA RESEARCH SENIOR INDUSTRY ANALYST ANGELO ZINO, SAYING:
"I guess, Elon Musk definitely had a change of heart here towards the final hours. And it's really interesting
or trying to figure out what the actual reason for his change of mind really was. Nobody really knows, but I
think at the end of the day, he kind of believed that maybe there was a better approach, or he just didn't want to be tied down to a member of the board, limiting himself to maybe a potentially a 14.9 percent stake.’’
On April 14, Musk takes aim at Twitter with a $43 billion cash takeover offer.
"My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a
shareholder."
His offer price of $54.20 per share contains the digits 420, a reference to a trope for smoking marijuana.
No wonder Twitter and its advisers were not sure at first how seriously to take him.
Discussions with Twitter turn serious on April 21,
when the company's advisers, including bankers at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Allen & Co, start poring through Musk's financing documents.
Many of the biggest Wall Street banks, led by Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, and Barclays committed to providing $25.5 billion in debt.
Musk himself committed another $21 billion in cash.
Twitter's board goes into overdrive.
It rushes to complete an analysis to assign a value on its standalone plan which Parag Agrawal, five months into his role as Twitter chief executive, was delivering on.
Meanwhile, it's also checking if there is any other bidder who could offer more than Musk.
But it soon becomes clear to Twitter's board directors there is no white knight.
Twitter's advisers meet with Musk on April 24,
and try to convince him to raise his offer.
He sticks to his position that the $54.20-per-share offer is his "best and final."
In the small hours of April 25, the two sides agreed to a deal.
Musk gets Twitter for $44 billion cash
in a transaction that will shift control of the social media platform populated by millions of users and global leaders to the world's richest person.
