Twitter is a popular social media platform used to post short bits of text and images. The site has about 238 million daily active users. Twitter was founded on March 21, 2006, in San Francisco, California, by four cofounders including Jack Dorsey. The company went public in September 2013 and was publicly traded up until very recently.

In April 2022, Elon Musk offered to buy Twitter for $44 billion and make the company private once again. Twitter’s board of directors accepted the deal on April 25. However, the deal did not go through immediately due to Musk’s concerns about the number of bot accounts on the platform. Twitter promptly sued Musk in an attempt to force him to carry out the deal. Musk and Twitter were nearing a trial when Musk agreed to follow through with the deal.

Twitter was bought out on Oct 27 according to an SEC document. Twitter shareholders were paid $54.20 per share and Twitter can no longer be publicly traded. As of now, Musk owns roughly 70% of Twitter (about $31 billion of the $44 billion valuation). Other investors include Saudi Arabian prince Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud, Twitter cofounded Jack Dorsey, Sequoia Capital Fund, and other investment groups and funds. About $13 billion of the closing price was paid for with bank loans.

Since taking control of the company, Musk has removed Twitter’s board of directors to take full control. He has said that 75% of the company’s employees will be laid off. A committee is being put together to assist Musk in making decisions regarding policies and account removals. More changes are sure to happen in the coming months.