Elon Musk could actually own Twitter before the end of the week

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UPDATE 4/25/2022 4:13 PM ET: Elon Musk is officially buying Twitter. Twitter “has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an entity wholly owned by Elon Musk.” The transaction is valued at nearly $44 billion. The original story follows below.

When Elon Musk made a bid to own Twitter a couple of weeks ago, we thought it was a joking offer. It was no laughing matter, apparently, as sources have told Reuters that Twitter’s board is about to approve the sale.

The deal is worth $43 billion in cash, with Musk acting in his personal capacity as the buyer. That means it won’t affect any of his other companies, like Tesla or SpaceX.

The reason Twitter’s board is considering the offer? It has no choice. Elon Musk filed paperwork with the SEC last week to show that he’d secured $46.5 billion in funding, more than enough to cover his bid and any associated costs.

READ MORE: Bill Gates says Elon Musk could make Twitter ‘worse’

That puts the responsibility on the board to talk to Twitter’s shareholders, as it has a fiduciary duty to consider any serious offers.

Twitter could announce the deal as soon as today, after the board has met with Twitter shareholders. The bid would value Twitter at $54.20-per-share.

Pre-market trading on Monday shows the stock at $51.24, after it jumped 5-percent on the news of the impending sale.

Elon Musk has said he will take Twitter private, if successful in his bid. That could be a good thing, giving him control over how the site is run.

READ MORE: Jack Dorsey says he trusts Elon Musk with Twitter

It could also be terrible, as his track record for silencing critics is well-known. Tesla’s repeatedly been sued for racial discrimination issues at its Fremont, California factory. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.