Elon Musk-Twitter saga: Explained in 10 points

New Delhi, Apr 28: Elon Musk, the world's richest person, struck a deal Monday to buy Twitter for $44 billion.

"Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated," Elon Musk said in a statement announcing the deal.

"I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans. Twitter has "tremendous potential", and he "looks forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it", he added.

The announcement comes after weeks of speculations over the fate of Twitter ever since the billionaire revealed that he had picked up a 9.2 per cent stake. Let us take a brief look at how things unfolded.

March 27: Billionaire Elon Musk said he is "giving serious thought" to creating a new social media platform, without disclosing specifics.

April 4: Musk disclosed a 9.2 per cent stake in Twitter Inc, worth nearly $3 billion, making him the micro-blogging site's largest shareholder in the company's shares.

April 5: Twitter decided to appoint Musk to its board to serve as a Class II director with a term expiring in 2024.

April 10: In an unexpected turn of events, Musk decided not to join the board of the micro-blogging platform.

April 14: Elon Musk, the world's richest person, made an offer to buy Twitter and take the public company private.

April 15: To thwart Musk, Twitter launched a so-called poison pill, which is a rights plan that allows shareholders to purchase shares at a discount if any shareholder exceeds 15% ownership.

April 19: Musk decides to invest up to $15 billion of his own cash and borrow against his Twitter stake to push through a deal.

April 21: Musk explores a tender offer for Twitter, saying he's secured $46.5 in funding.

April 24: Twitter, Musk hold talks for two-days. The board began to take Musk's offer more seriously once he presented details of his financing.

April 25: Twitter announces that its Board of Directors has approved Elon's offer to buy the company at $54.20 per share.