Elon Musk has finally completed his takeover of Twitter.
Musk sealed the $44 billion deal late Thursday, vowing the social media platform would not become a ‘free-for-all hellscape.’
Musk shifted his opinion on whether to buy the company after a series of losses in court in matters related to scheduling and discovery, according to people close to Musk and his team who spoke on anonymity to describe sensitive issues. A loss became a severe possibility if the matter went to trial, risking penalties beyond the buying cost. And the blows to Tesla’s stock and Musk’s net worth became a lingering concern.
The tech billionaire was in a race against time as the deadline to complete the deal would run out on Friday (October 28). Earlier this month, the Delaware judge overseeing the case agreed to let Twitter and Musk resolve their dispute by Friday, or it would go to trial.
He declared the deal “on hold” in an early morning tweet on May 13. By early July, Musk backed out of the value ultimately. However, it looks like Musk has managed to dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s just in the nick of time.
Twitter investor Ross Gerber, chief executive of Gerber Kawasaki Investments in California, told the BBC that the deal is now done.
“I think the court pushed him over the line,” he said.
“Quite frankly, this has sort of been a disaster from the beginning, of course, starting very aggressively courting Twitter in a way that forced Twitter to the table… then getting all upset and having a public spat over what to me was pretty well-known issues.”
However, it seems like it’s been an absolute bloodbath straight from the get-go.
Several American news outlets report that Musk has fired several top executives as one of his first orders.
The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and others say Twitter’s chief executive, Parag Agrawal, chief financial officer, Ned Segal, top legal and policy executive, Vijaya Gadde, and general counsel, Sean Edgett, have all been booted.
Sources within the company said at least one of the executives had to be escorted out of the building.
Chief executive Parag Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Segal, and Vijaya Gadde, head of legal policy, trust, and safety, were let go, according to the people. One of the people said that Sean Edgett, the company’s general counsel, was also pushed out. The top executives were hastily escorted out of the company’s San Francisco headquarters.
Musk revealed earlier this week why he launched his multi-billion dollar takeover of the social media company.
“There has been much speculation about why I bought Twitter and what I think about advertising,” Musk wrote.
“Most of it has been wrong.”
He explained: “I acquired Twitter because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated healthily, without resorting to violence.”
Musk added: “I didn’t do it because it would be easy. I didn’t get to it to make more money. I did it to try to help humanity, whom I love.”
He rocked up to the Twitter offices with a kitchen sink and told staff to let the deal ‘sink in.’ Classic.
Musk also could keep the staff bloodbath going.
According to documents seen by The Washington Post, the tech billionaire wants to let go nearly 75 per cent of Twitter’s 7,500 workers, which will reduce its staff to just over 2,000 people.
The company planned to decrease its payroll by USD 800 million (AUD 1.2b or £714m) by the end of next year, cutting almost a quarter of its workers.
Bloomberg reported that in April, Musk told investors in his initial pitch that he planned on laying off a significant portion of the company’s staff.
Late in the evening, he tweeted, “The bird is freed.”
The deal’s closure ended a months-long, roller-coaster saga in which the billionaire — the world’s richest person — conducted a hostile takeover to buy Twitter at an inflated price, only to renege on the deal and then enter into a bitter legal battle with the social network.
