Australia, insurance, car, home, live, holidays

The $US44 billion ($A68 billion) acquisition isthe culmination of a remarkable saga,full of twists and turns,that sowed doubt over whether Musk would complete the deal. It began on April 4,when Musk disclosed a 9.2 per cent stake in the company,making him its largest shareholder.

The world’s richest person then agreed to join Twitter’s board,only to baulk at the last minute and offer to buy the company instead for $US54.20 per share,an offer that Twitter was unsure whether to interpret as being legitimate.

Musk’s offer was real,and over the course of just one weekend later in April,the two sides reached a deal at the price he suggested. This happened without Musk carrying out any due diligence on the company’s confidential information,as is customary in an acquisition.

In the weeks that followed,Musk had second thoughts. He complained publicly that he believed Twitter’s spam accounts were significantly higher than Twitter’s estimate,published in regulatory filings,of less than 5 per cent of its monetisable daily active users. His lawyers then accused Twitter of not complying with his requests for information on the subject.

The acrimony resulted in Musk giving notice to Twitter on July 8 thathe was terminating their deal on the grounds that Twitter misled him on the bots and did not cooperate with him. Four days later,Twitter sued Musk in Delaware,where the company is incorporated,to force him to complete the deal.

Agrawal had been at Twitter for almost a decade,most recently as chief technology officer,but his run as CEO was quickly disrupted by Musk’s arrival as a major shareholder and increasingly vocal antagonist of its current leadership.

By then,shares of social media companies and the broader stock market had plunged on concerns that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes,as it seeks to fight inflation,will push the US economy into recession.Twitter accused Musk of buyer’s remorse,arguing he wanted to get out of the deal because he thought he overpaid.

Most legal analysts said Twitter had the strongest arguments and would likely prevail in court. Their view did not change even after Twitter’s former security chief Peiter Zatkostepped forward as a whistleblower in August to allege that the company failed to disclose weaknesses in its security and data privacy.

On October 4,just as Musk was set to be deposed by Twitter’s lawyers ahead of the start of their trial later in the month,he performed another U-turn andoffered to complete the deal as promised. The Delaware judge gave him an October 28 deadline to close the transaction and avoid the trial.

Since then,Musk has indulged the deal hype. He walked into Twitter’s headquarters on Wednesday with a big grinand carrying a porcelain sink,subsequently tweeting “let that sink in”. He changed his description in his Twitter profile to “Chief Twit”.

He also tried to calm fears among employees that major layoffs are coming and assured advertisers that his past criticism of Twitter’s content moderation rules would not harm its appeal.

The deal for the social media giant has had many twists and turns since the offer was agreed to in April.Credit:Bloomberg

As the deadline neared,Musk arranged meetings between Tesla engineers and product leadership at Twitter,and he planned to address the staff on Friday,people familiar with the matter said.

Twitter employees have been bracing for layoffs since the transaction was announced in April,and Musk floated the idea of cost cuts to banking partners when he was initially fundraising for the deal. Some potential investors were told Musk plans to cut 75 per cent of Twitter’s workforce,which now numbers about 7500,and expects to double revenue within three years,a person familiar with the matter said earlier this month.

Twitter’s chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde is another reported departure.Credit:Bloomberg

While visiting Twitter headquarters this week,Musk told employees that he doesn’t plan to cut 75 per cent of the staff when he takes over the company,according to people familiar with the matter.

Agrawal stepped into the CEO role in November,when co-founder Jack Dorsey unexpectedly resigned. Agrawal had been at Twitter for almost a decade,most recently as chief technology officer,but his run as CEO was quickly disrupted by Musk’s arrival as a major shareholder and increasingly vocal antagonist of its current leadership.

After Musk showed up,it became clear that Agrawal was unlikely to keep his job. “I don’t have confidence in management,” Musk said in one early filing about the deal,and the two executives exchanged some public swipes.

Efforts by Dorsey to reconcile Musk,a longtime Dorsey friend,and Agrawal after the deal was announced also ended poorly. “At least it became clear that you can’t work together,” Dorsey messaged Musk after a group call. “That was clarifying.”

Agrawal won’t be leaving empty-handed. As part of the deal,the CEO will vest 100 per cent of his unvested equity awards,according to a filing. Research firm Equilar estimated that means he’ll make an estimated $US42 million.

The company’s shares are no longer expected to trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

Reuters,Bloomberg

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories,exclusive coverage and expert opinion.Sign up to get it every weekday morning.