Elon Musk’s proposed £35.8bn Twitter deal gets board endorsement

21 June 2022, 14:34

Elon Musk
Elon Musk SEC. Picture: PA

Mr Musk reiterated his desire to move forward with the acquisition last week during a virtual meeting with Twitter employees.

Twitter’s board has recommended unanimously that shareholders approve the proposed 44 billion dollar (£35.8 billion) sale of the company to billionaire and Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, according to a regulatory filing.

Mr Musk reiterated his desire to move forward with the acquisition last week during a virtual meeting with Twitter employees, though shares of Twitter remain far below his offering price, signalling considerable doubt that it will happen.

On Tuesday at the Qatar Economic Forum in an interview with Bloomberg, Mr Musk listed the approval of the deal by shareholders as one of several “unresolved matters” related to the Twitter deal.

Shares of Twitter were essentially flat just before the opening bell on Tuesday and far short of the 54.20 dollars per share that Mr Musk has offered to pay for each.

The company’s stock last reached that level on April 5 when it offered Mr Musk a seat on the board before he had offered to buy all of Twitter.

A person uses the Twitter app on an iPhone
Elon Musk reiterated his desire to move forward with the acquisition last week (Andrew Matthews/PA)

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday detailing a letter to investors, Twitter’s board of directors said that it “unanimously recommends that you vote (for) the adoption of the merger agreement”.

If the deal were to close now, investors in the company would pocket a profit of 15.22 dollars for each share they own.

By Press Association

More Technology News

See more More Technology News

A woman’s hand presses a key of a laptop keyboard

Competition watchdog seeks views on big tech AI partnerships

A woman's hands on a laptop keyboard

UK-based cybersecurity firm Egress to be acquired by US giant KnowBe4

TikTok�s campaign

What next for TikTok as US ban moves step closer?

A laptop user with their hood up

Deepfakes a major concern for general election, say IT professionals

A woman using a mobile phone

Which? urges banks to address online security ‘loopholes’

Child online safety report

Tech giants agree to child safety principles around generative AI

Holyrood exterior

MSPs to receive cyber security training

Online child abuse

Children as young as three ‘coerced into sexual abuse acts online’

Big tech firms and financial data

Financial regulator to take closer look at tech firms and data sharing

Woman working on laptop

Pilot scheme to give AI regulation advice to businesses

Vehicles on the M4 smart motorway

Smart motorway safety systems frequently fail, investigation finds

National Cyber Security Centre launch

National Cyber Security Centre names Richard Horne as new chief executive

The lights on the front panel of a broadband internet router, London.

Virgin Media remains most complained about broadband and landline provider

A person using a laptop

£14,000 being lost to investment scams on average, says Barclays

Europe Digital Rules

Meta unveils latest AI model as chatbot competition intensifies

AI technology

Younger children increasingly online and unsupervised, Ofcom says