The board of Twitter has agreed to sell the social network to billionaire Elon Musk for $44 billion or $54.20 per share, which is nearly 38% above the closing price of Twitter shares on the 1st of April - before Musk revealed that he had bought about a 9 percent stake in social media.

"The proposed transaction will provide a significant cash bonus, and we believe this is the best way forward for Twitter shareholders," said Brett Taylor, independent chairman of Twitter's board, in a press release.

Shares of Twitter were suspended from trading on Monday before the announcement of the deal, having previously risen by 5.5% during the day. After the resumption of trading, the shares rose only slightly, ending yesterday's session on Wall Street with an increase of 5.66% to $51.70 per share.

The deal is expected to be completed this year, but only if it is approved by US shareholders and regulators.

Elon Musk is no stranger to regulatory battles. He was criticized by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for his 2018 tweet, which claimed he had "secured funding" that would allow him to turn Tesla private at $420 per share. A $40 million deal was reached, which included restrictions on Musk's use of Twitter posts.

Musk is the richest man on the planet, with a fortune of more than $273 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

In a statement, the head of Tesla, Musk, pledged to make the network better by betting on the maxim that free expression is key to democracy. He is a zealous advocate of greater guarantees on Twitter for free expression. The concept of free access to many ideas to compete for public attention - a competition in which the best ideas survive - is key to Western democracies and the subject of constant debate.

With his purchase of Twitter, Musk is in a position to run an influential social network used by politicians, journalists and ordinary citizens to spread and search for information. The purchase takes place during a debate on whether moderation of content on the platform can be considered censorship. A little over a year ago, Twitter blocked the account of then-US President Donald Trump for fears of incitement to violence following the attack on the Capitol.

In a statement, Musk said that "Twitter is a digital square where vital topics for the future of humanity are debated." He added that he would work on improving the platform, which would include transparency of algorithms and actions against spam bots.

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