Elon Musk completes bn Twitter takeover - and immediately sacks top executives

Elon Musk completes $44bn Twitter takeover – and immediately sacks top executives

Published

3 years ago

October 28, 2022

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Elon Musk has completed his $44bn (£38bn) takeover of Twitter after months of toing and froing over the deal.

His first move was to fire the social media company’s top leadership, which he accused of misleading him over the number of spam accounts on the platform.

Musk sacked Twitter’s chief executive Parag Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Segal and legal affairs and policy chief Vijaya Gadde, according to reports.

It has also been claimed Agrawal and Segal were in Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters when the deal closed and were escorted out of the building.

Musk later tweeted “the bird is freed” in a nod to the deal being completed.

The Tesla and SpaceX founder was given a deadline of 28 October to close the deal to avoid going to trial, after the social media company sued him for trying to rip up his original offer made back in April.

Musk and Twitter were due in court on 17 October, but it was pushed back after the world’s richest man said he would go through with the purchase after all.

Earlier this week, Musk posted a bizarre video of himself entering Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters carrying a sink alongside the message: “Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in”.

Musk, who has updated his Twitter bio to “Chief Twit”, said on Thursday he did not buy the social media platform to make more money but “to try to help humanity, whom I love.”

He says he wants to “defeat” spam bots on Twitter, make the algorithms that determine how content is presented to its users publicly available, and prevent the platform from becoming an echo chamber for hate and division, even as he limits censorship.

He has not offered details on how he will achieve these wishes and who will run the company – and has so far been vague about his plans.

Analysis: Where are Musk’s Twitter red lines?

Elon Musk first made an unsolicited bid for Twitter in April, and it’s been a will he, won’t he, on-again, off-again saga since then.

The billionaire has spent the intervening period dropping crumbs of information about what he wants Twitter to be under his control.

Musk seems to be suggesting less moderation of what users put on the platform, although he did tweet this week: “Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences!”

But there are major mid-term elections coming up in the US and a presidential election approaching in Brazil. Both of those events are likely to be plagued by misinformation and election denial.

So, this is the first big test for Musk, now in charge of one of the world’s biggest communication platforms. We’ll find out soon enough where his red lines are.

According to reports, Musk told staff during his visit it was not true he was planning on cutting up to 75% of Twitter staff after acquiring the company.

It was previously reported that Musk told investors he was hoping to cut around three-quarters of the firm’s 7,500 employees.

In other plans, the outspoken billionaire has also repeatedly referred to a “super app”, which he has tentatively dubbed “X”.

The concept has drawn comparisons with China’s WeChat, which combines familiar features like messaging, a marketplace, and public Twitter-style posts into one place.

Musk has told investors he plans to sell users premium subscriptions to reduce reliance on ads, allow content creators to make money and enable payments, according to Reuters news agency.

Elsewhere, his plans to cut content moderation are feared to lead to a deluge of hateful, harmful and potentially illegal content on Twitter.

He has previously spoken of his belief in “absolute free speech” and hinted he would allow suspended and often controversial figures, such as former US president Donald Trump, to return to the platform.

Experts have warned that the world’s richest man’s loose stance on moderation could be a route for the service’s “very worst” trolls to thrive, turning Twitter into a “Wild West” where anything goes.

The 28 October deadline was to give Musk time to finance the deal. Had it not been met, a judge in Delaware – the US state where Twitter is incorporated – would have arranged a trial for November.

It ends months of bad blood between the two parties regarding the takeover, with Musk complaining about fake accounts on the platform and claims by a whistleblower that Twitter misled regulators about security risks.

It also emerged earlier this month that Musk is being investigated by federal authorities over his conduct.

Business

US-listed Ulta Beauty swoops on high street chain Space NK

Published

3 hours ago

July 10, 2025

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US-listed Ulta Beauty swoops on high street chain Space NK

A New York-listed company with a valuation of more than $21bn is to snap up Space NK, the British high street beauty chain.

Sky News has learnt that Ulta Beauty, which operates close to 1,500 stores, is on the verge of a deal to buy Space NK from existing owner Manzanita Capital.

Ulta Beauty is understood to have registered an acquisition vehicle at Companies House in recent weeks.

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The exact price being paid by Ulta was unclear on Thursday morning, although one source said it was likely to be well in excess of £300m.

Manzanita Capital, a private investment firm, engaged bankers at Raymond James to oversee an auction in April 2024.

The firm has owned Space NK for more than 20 years.

Manzanita has also owned the French perfume house Diptyque and Susanne Kaufmann, an Austrian luxury skincare brand.

Read more from Sky News:
Royal Mail to scrap second-class post on some days
Warning a pub a day to close this year

Founded in 1993 by Nicky Kinnaird, Space NK – which is named after her initials – trades from dozens of stores and employs more than 1,000 people.

It specialises in high-end skincare and cosmetics products.

Manzanita previously explored a sale of Space NK in 2018, hiring Goldman Sachs to handle a strategic review, but opted not to proceed with a deal.

None of Ulta, Manzanita, Space NK and Raymond James could be reached for comment.

Business

Royal Mail to scrap second-class post on Saturdays and some weekdays

Published

5 hours ago

July 10, 2025

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Royal Mail to scrap second-class post on Saturdays and some weekdays

Royal Mail is to be allowed to scrap Saturday second-class stamp deliveries, under a series of reforms proposed by the communications regulator.

From 28 July, Royal Mail will also be allowed to deliver second-class letters on alternate weekdays, Ofcom said.

The post will still be delivered within three working days of collection from Monday to Friday.

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The proposals had already been raised by Ofcom after a consultation was announced in 2024, and the scale back was proposed early this year.

Royal Mail had repeatedly failed to meet the so-called universal service obligation to deliver post within set periods of time.

Those delivery targets are now being revised downwards.

Rather than having to have 93% of first-class mail delivered the next day, 90% will be legally allowed.

The target for second-class mail deliveries will be lowered from 98.5% to arrive within three working days to 95%.

A review of stamp prices has also been announced by Ofcom amid concerns over affordability, with a consultation set to be launched next year.

It’s good news for Royal Mail and its new owner, the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. Ofcom estimates the changes will bring savings of between £250m and £425m.

A welcome change?

Unsurprisingly, the company welcomed the announcement.

“It is good news for customers across the UK as it supports the delivery of a reliable, efficient and financially sustainable universal service,” said Martin Seidenberg, the group chief executive of Royal Mail’s parent company, International Distribution Services.

“It follows extensive consultation with thousands of people and businesses to ensure that the postal service better reflects their needs and the realities of how customers send and receive mail today.”

Citizens Advice, however, doubted whether services would improve as a result of the changes.

“Today, Ofcom missed a major opportunity to bring about meaningful change,” said Tom MacInnes, the director of policy at Citizens Advice.

“Pushing ahead with plans to slash services and relax delivery targets in the name of savings won’t automatically make letter deliveries more reliable or improve standards.”

Acknowledging long delays “where letters have taken weeks to arrive”, Ofcom said it set Royal Mail new enforceable targets so 99% of mail has to be delivered no more than two days late.

Changing habits

Less than a third of letters are sent now than 20 years ago, and it is forecast to fall to about a fifth of the letters previously sent.

According to Ofcom research, people want reliability and affordability more than speedy delivery.

Royal Mail has been loss-making in recent years as revenues fell.

In response to Ofcom’s changes, a government spokesperson said: “The public expects a well-run postal service, with letters arriving on time across the country without it costing the earth. With the way people use postal services having changed, it’s right the regulator has looked at this.

“We now need Royal Mail to work with unions and posties to deliver a service that people expect, and this includes maintaining the principle of one price to send a letter anywhere in the UK”.

Ofcom said it has told Royal Mail to hold regular meetings with consumer bodies and industry groups to hear their experiences implementing the changes.

Business

A pub a day to close this year, industry body warns as it calls for cut to tax burden

Published

5 hours ago

July 10, 2025

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A pub a day to close this year, industry body warns as it calls for cut to tax burden

An industry body has warned that the equivalent of more than one pub a day is set to close across Great Britain this year.

According to the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), an estimated 378 venues will shut down across England, Wales and Scotland.

This would amount to more than 5,600 direct job losses, the industry body warns. It has called for a reduction in the cumulative tax and regulatory burden for the hospitality sector – including cutting business rates and beer duty.

The body – representing members that brew 90% of British beer and own more than 20,000 pubs – said such measures would slow the rate at which bars are closing.

BBPA chief executive Emma McClarkin said that while pubs are trading well, “most of the money that goes into the till goes straight back out in bills and taxes”.

“For many, it’s impossible to make a profit, which all too often leads to pubs turning off the lights for the last time,” she said.

“When a pub closes, it puts people out of a job, deprives communities of their heart and soul, and hurts the local economy.”

She urged the government to “proceed with meaningful business rates reform, mitigate these eye-watering new employment and EPR (extended producer responsibility) costs, and cut beer duty”.

“We’re not asking for special treatment, we just want the sector’s rich potential unleashed,” she added.

The government has said it plans to reform the current business rates system, saying in March that an interim report on the measure would be published this summer.

From April, relief on property tax – that came in following the COVID-19 pandemic – was cut from 75% to 40%, leading to higher bills for hospitality, retail and leisure businesses.

The rate of employer National Insurance Contributions also rose from 13.8% to 15% that month, and the wage threshold was lowered from £9,100 to £5,000, under measures announced by Rachel Reeves in the October budget.