Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of Tesla Inc, has offered to buy Twitter at $54.20 per share in cash.
The amount values the social media company at $43 billion at the current price.
Musk said the microblogging platform needs to be transformed into a private company.
The development comes just days after he took a 9 per cent stake in the company, becoming its largest shareholder but rejecting a seat on Twitter’s board.
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In a letter sent to Bret Taylor, Twitter chairman, and disclosed in a regulatory filing on Thursday, 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”.
“However, since making my investment, I now realise 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.
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“My offer is my best and final offer, and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder.
“Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it.”
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