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Twitter (TWTR) has accepted a $54.20-a-share buyout offer from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, valuing the social media company at about $44 billion in cash, according to a press release.

Once the deal is completed, Twitter will become a privately held company.

• "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," Musk said in a statement. "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."

• Bret Taylor, Twitter's independent board chair, said, "The Twitter Board conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon's proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty and financing. The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter's stockholders."

• In early April, Musk revealed he'd taken 9.2% stake in Twitter for $2.89 billion. He also criticized the social media platform in a series of tweets, saying that "failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy."

• Musk said in an April 13 regulatory filing that he intended to take the social media company private and that he "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."

• Twitter shares rose about 5.5% to $51.63 on Monday before trading was halted in the afternoon pending news. The $54.20 per share offer represents a premium of about 38% to Twitter's close on April 1, 2022, the last trading day before Mr. Musk disclosed his stake in Twitter.

• Meanwhile the price of dogecoin (DOGE) surged more than 20% since reports of a deal being likely surfaced on Monday morning. Some investors speculate that Musk's fondness for DOGE mean it might play a bigger role in Twitter payments if he were to own the company.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

UPDATE (April 25, 19:11 UTC): Added quotes from Musk and Taylor, and information about Musk's offer price.