Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made a cash offer to buy Twitter, just days after declining the company’s invitation to join its board of directors.
Musk recently acquired a 9.2% stake in the company, making him the largest individual shareholder. On Thursday he issued a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission proposing a full takeover for $54.20 per share in cash — a total of $41.4 billion.
The offer represents a 38% premium on Twitter’s April 1 closing price.
In a note to Bret Taylor, chair of Twitter’s board, Musk wrote that he believed in the company’s “potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe.” But he said changes were needed in order for it to thrive.
“Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it,” Musk wrote.
