Elon Musk Finally Buys Twitter, Fires Top Executives

Tesla CEO and world's wealthiest person, Elon Musk, is now in charge of social media platform Twitter. The official announcement of the takeover deal's completion is expected on Friday before the stock market opens. Twitter will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange beginning on Oct. 28, according to a recent delisting notice. Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and CFO Ned Segal have been fired, according to multiple media reports. The purchase brings to an end an unusual corporate takeover fight that has been a roller coaster ride for nearly seven months. Musk shared a video of himself on Wednesday walking into Twitter headquarters carrying a sink, tweeting “let that sink in.” He also changed his social network bio to “Chief Twit.” Before Musk arrived at the San Francisco-based headquarters, CNN obtained an email that was sent to all staff members. "As you'll soon see or hear, Elon is in the SF office this week meeting with folks, walking the halls, and continuing to dive in on the important work you all do. If you're in SF and see him around, say hi! For everyone else, this is just the beginning of many meetings and conversations with Elon, and you'll all hear directly from him on Friday." But the celebratory nature after a seven-month battle between the billionaire entrepreneur and the social media corporation might end prematurely as “he'll still have plenty of hard work ahead,” says Jason Moser, senior analyst and lead advisor at The Motley Fool. [epoch_social_embed] Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in! pic.twitter.com/D68z4K2wq7 — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 26, 2022 [/epoch_social_embed] The buyout will be remembered as one of the most crucial deals in the history of mergers and acquisitions because of how much public attention it drew. The entire ordeal began earlier this year when it was discovered that Musk purchased a sizable stake in the company to become the largest shareholder. He was invited to serve as a member of the board of directors, which he eventually declined. Instead, the billionaire CEO proposed to purchase the company for $44 billion, or $54.20 per share. The price offered by Musk represented a 38 percent premium to the company's closing stock price on April 1. This was the final trading session before Musk revealed his roughly 9 percent stake in the company. Some had thought the figure was too expensive, especially considering that he faced zero competition. "My strong intuitive sense is that having a public platform that is maximally trusted and broadly inclusive is extremely important to the future of civilization," Musk said at the TED2022 Conference in Vancouver in April. "I don't care about the economics at all." The social media outlet eventually agreed to the takeover bid, but Musk attempted to abandon the deal over his concerns regarding the prevalence of bots and fake accounts. He believed that the number of spam bots was greater than the 5 percent Twitter disclosed. Twitter filed a lawsuit against Musk to force him to make good on his acquisition. Earlier this month, Musk changed his mind, confirming in a letter to Twitter that he will move ahead with his original offer. The surprise reversal occurred just weeks before both parties were scheduled to appear in a Delaware Chancery Court. Many legal experts purported that it would have been difficult for Musk to win the case. Musk had recently addressed the Twitter situation during a third-quarter Tesla earnings call, saying that he is "excited." "I think it's an asset that has just sort of languished for a long time, but has incredible potential, although obviously myself and the other investors are overpaying for Twitter right now," he added. So, now that Musk is in control and not beholden to anyone, can he turn around the struggling website?  What's Next for Twitter Last week, The Washington Post reported that Musk plans to lay off 75 percent of Twitter's workforce. By doing more with less, it would indicate stronger cash flow and greater profitability, market analysts say. It might also be a remedy to its s