- Trump victory poses challenges for the Fed's independence
- US farmers gird for trade wars on Trump tariff pledges
- Balinese hope construction freeze can tame tourism
- Economic woes sour prospects for China's dairy farmers
- Two months on, post-Olympic blues grip Paris
- McSweeney wins race to open for Australia against India
- Mauritius votes in close-fought election race
- Award-winning writer absent from major Algerian book fair
- Egyptians exhume the dead as historic cemetery razed
- NBA Jazz get second win despite big night for Wemby
- Salt peppers West Indies as England romp to T20 win
- 'Hungry' Dupont stars in France's win over Japan
- Liverpool sink Villa to open up five-point Premier League lead
- Lee, Barcola star as PSG stay six points clear of Monaco in Ligue 1
- Man City beaten again at Brighton as Liverpool move five points clear
- McSweeney set to open for Australia against India
- France skipper Dupont delights on return in Japan stroll
- Man City can't compete for 90 minutes admits shell-shocked Guardiola
- Liverpool open up five-point Premier League lead
- Juventus win derby to move into top three, AC Milan held in thriller
- Catherine, Princess of Wales, steps up return to work at UK memorial event
- Qatar suspends Gaza mediation, in sign of impasse
- Pelicans lose Williamson indefinitely to hamstring strain
- Afghanistan says to attend UN climate talks, first since Taliban takeover
- Tens of thousands march in Spain over handling of deadly floods
- Schmidt elated by 'aerial freak' Suaalii as Australia edge England
- AC Milan drop points in thrilling draw at Cagliari
- EU vows 'unwavering' support for Ukraine after Trump win
- Argentina put Italy to the sword
- Man City beaten again at Brighton to open door to Liverpool
- Guardiola suffers four successive defeats for first time as Brighton rock Man City
- Gauff fights back to beat Zheng for WTA Finals title
- Musiala sends Bayern ahead as rivals stumble
- Bangladesh outspin Afghanistan to level ODI series
- Monaco claim comeback win to retake second spot in Ligue 1
- 'Way too far': Amsterdam in shock after 'frightening' violence
- Bonzi fells Norrie in Metz for first ATP title
- Biden, Trump to meet at White House ahead of historic return
- Jorgensen the hero as Australia edge England in Twickenham thriller
- Vinicius treble as Real Madrid crush Osasuna, Villarreal rise
- A 'jungle': Rome's teeming jail lays bare Italy's prison ills
- Asalanka knock seals four-wicket Sri Lanka win over New Zealand
- Australia beat England 42-37 in Twickenham thriller
- Wolves end wait for Premier League win, Man City aim to snap losing streak
- Gaza mediator Qatar bows out, source says, in sign of impasse
- Musiala stars as Bayern go six clear, Dortmund lose again
- 'Racing career: completed it!' announces cycling great Cavendish
- Waring holds one-shot Abu Dhabi lead as McIlroy struggles
- Vinicius treble helps Real Madrid crush Osasuna
- Iran urges Trump to change 'maximum pressure' policy
Elon Musk launches hostile takeover bid for Twitter
Tesla chief Elon Musk has launched a hostile takeover bid for Twitter, offering to buy 100 percent of its stock and take it private, according to a stock exchange filing.
Musk offered $54.20 a share, which values the social media firm at $43.4 billion, in a filing dated Wednesday April 13 with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Musk's latest move towards Twitter comes just days after he turned down a seat on the board following his acquisition of a 9.2 percent stake in the microblogging platform.
"I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy," Musk said in his filing.
"However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form," he said.
"Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company. As a result, I am offering to buy 100% of Twitter for $54.20 per share in cash, a 54% premium over the day before I began investing in Twitter."
Musk, Twitter's biggest shareholder, said his "offer is my best and final offer" and he would reconsider his position as a shareholder if it was rejected.
"Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it," he said.
Currently the world's richest man and with more than 80 million followers on the microblogging platform, Musk last week disclosed a purchase of 73.5 million shares -- or 9.2 percent -- of Twitter's common stock. His announcement sent Twitter shares soaring more than 25 percent.
He was offered a seat on the board but turned it down at the weekend.
Musk's move comes after he tweeted Saturday asking whether the social media network was "dying" and to call out users such as singer Justin Bieber, who are highly followed but rarely post.
"Most of these 'top' accounts tweet rarely and post very little content," the Tesla boss wrote, captioning a list of the 10 profiles with the most followers -- which includes himself at number eight, with 81 million followers.
"Is Twitter dying?" he asked.
In other weekend tweets, Musk posted joke polls on whether to drop the "w" from Twitter's name and on converting its San Francisco headquarters to a homeless shelter "since no one shows up anyway."
He also suggested removing ads, Twitter's main source of revenue.
The billionaire tech entrepreneur is a frequent Twitter user, regularly mixing in inflammatory and controversial statements about issues or other public figures with remarks that are whimsical or business-focused.
He has also sparred repeatedly with federal securities regulators, who cracked down on his social media use after a purported effort to take Tesla private in 2018 fell apart.
I.Meyer--BTB