Elon Musk, the billionaire, has made a substantial bid to Twitter.
Musk suggested paying $54.20 a share for the influential social media business, valuing Twitter at $43 billion. The entrepreneur, who is the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and other firms, already controls more than 9% of Twitter.
“I now understand the firm will neither prosper nor serve [its] societal mandate in its current form,” Musk said in a letter to Twitter’s board chairman, Bret Taylor. “Twitter has enormous potential. I’ll get it unlocked.”
The offer, which Musk described as his “best and final,” highlights Musk’s up-and-down relationship with Twitter since revealing his ownership in early April. Musk is one of the major stockholders in the social media corporation. He subsequently declined a position on Twitter’s board of directors, stoking suspicion that Musk will launch a hostile takeover of the firm. Musk has also hinted that he would make a direct appeal to shareholders in the form of a tender offer.