Billionaire Elon Musk has closed a $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, ending one of the most high-profile and dramatic sagas in recent memory after months of legal battles between the world's richest man and the social media platform, according to three people familiar with the matter. Financial Times.
When the billionaire entrepreneur "took power" Thursday night, he fired Twitter chief executive Parag Agrawal and chief financial officer Ned Segal. Also fired were Vijay Gadde, Twitter's head of legal, policy and security, and general counsel Sean Edgett, one of the people said.
Musk commented on the closing of the deal on the purchase of the social network with the tweet "the bird is freed".
This completes the acquisition and puts Musk, as he calls himself a "freedom of speech absolutist", at the head of a platform popular among world politicians, the publication notes.
Musk, who is already the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is expected to act as CEO of Twitter until new leadership is chosen. He has already changed his signature on his Twitter profile to Chief Twit.
Musk has promised to cut staff and costs at Twitter and boost product innovation in an effort to create a "super app" that includes payments, commerce and messaging. He also told some employees he had no intention of cutting 75% of the jobs, rejecting earlier reports, a person familiar with the situation said.
He also promised to loosen content moderation rules, including the abolition of "eternal baths", which could pave the way for former US President Donald Trump to return to the platform.
Twitter shares will cease trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, according to information on the exchange's website.
