Elon Musk has offered to buy the rest of Twitter Inc. in a deal valuing the social-media company at more than $43 billion, calling the bid his “best and final offer.”
“If it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder,” said Mr. Musk, who earlier this year built a more than 9% position in the stock, making him the company’s largest shareholder. “I am not playing the back-and-forth game.”
Mr. Musk said he would pay $54.20 a share in cash, representing what he said was a 54% premium over the day before he began investing in Twitter and a 38% premium over the day before his investment was publicly announced.
“Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it,” Mr. Musk added.
Twitter said it would “carefully review the proposal.”
On Wednesday, Twitter shares closed at $45.85. In premarket trading, the stock rose nearly 13% to $51.70.
The Tesla Inc. chief executive, with more than 80 million followers on Twitter, has long been one of Twitter’s most prominent users and, at times, one of its most vocal critics. A self-described “free speech absolutist,” Mr. Musk has publicly encouraged the platform to allow a wide range of opinions.
The latest developments add to a whirlwind 10 days. Mr. Musk’s stake in Twitter was made public April 4, and plans for him to join the board were announced April 5. He then spent much of this past weekend tweeting criticisms, suggestions and apparent jokes about the company—before deciding not to join the board earlier this week.
