Twitter is on its way to being owned by the richest man in the world and one of its most influential users.
As The Wall Street Journal reported Monday (April 25), the social media platform has accepted Elon Musk’s bid to take control over the company in a deal that values Twitter at $44 billion.
The purchase marks a significant change of heart for Twitter, which earlier this month had opposed Musk’s initial bid and employed a “poison pill” measure to fend him off.
Assuming the takeover goes through, the Journal noted it will be one of the largest acquisitions the tech world has seen and could have worldwide repercussions on how billions of people encounter social media.
See also: Report: Twitter Takes Second Look at Musk Offer, May Negotiate
When reports emerged Monday that a deal was close, Musk — the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX — wrote on Twitter that he wants the platform to remain a place for discourse.
“I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means,” he wrote.
Musk has more than 83 million Twitter followers and has used his account to share his opinions on cryptocurrencies, space travel and his plans to solve transportation issues. Earlier this year, he began purchasing stock in Twitter, becoming its single-biggest individual investor this month with a 9% stake.
Twitter had changed its stance on the purchase after Musk offered more details about his financing, per the report. Last week, he said had $46.5 billion in funding ready, causing shares in Twitter to jump and making the platform’s executives more open to negotiating.
Read more: Musk-Twitter Deal Would Be Latest in Trend of Billionaires Buying Media Companies
As PYMNTS noted, the purchase puts Musk at the end of a long line of billionaires who purchased their way into media molgudom, from Rupert Murdoch buying The Wall Street Journal in 2007 to Red Sox owner John Henry paying $70 million for the Boston Globe in 2013.
That same year, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos paid $250 to purchase The Washington Post.
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