SAN FRANCISCO (Fwrd Axis) — Twitter on Friday moved to block tech billionaire Elon Musk from completing a takeover of the social media company.
Twitter is adopting the strategy known as a “poison pill” that’s often used to intercept hostile takeovers. Twitter on Friday moved to block tech billionaire Elon Musk from completing a takeover of the social media company, announcing the decision in a statement.
“The Rights Plan is intended to enable all shareholders to realize the full value of their investment in Twitter. The Rights Plan will reduce the likelihood that any entity, person or group gains control through open market accumulation without paying all shareholders an appropriate control premium or without providing the Board sufficient time to make informed judgments and take actions that are in the best interests of shareholders,” the statement read in part.
“The Rights Plan does not prevent the Board from engaging with parties or accepting an acquisition proposal if the Board believes that it is in the best interests of Twitter and its shareholders,” the company added.
The news comes after Musk said Thursday he has made a massive offer to buy 100 percent of the social media company, wanting it to be “transformed”.
“I invested as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy,” Musk wrote in a letter to the chairman of Twitter’s board of directors, that was included in the SEC filing.
The billionaire businessman has been vocal about criticizing of the company’s handling of its platform, most notably how it regulates what people are allowed to say, referring to the social media company cracking down on misinformation, calls for violence, harassment, and conspiracy theories.
Republican politicians and conservative commentators have been vocal about the company ever since the company banned former President Donald Trump after his tweets regarding the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol.
